2.1.1. BIOPOLIS – a successful distribution and franchising experience for organic products

Short Schedule Farm/Company

Name: BIOPOLIS – a shop of the distribution and franchising label “ECOR ITALIA” Web sites: for the specific shop visited: http://www.biopolis-roma.org/ for the distribution and franchising company label: http://www.ecor.it/

Place Country: Italy - Region: Lazio City: Rome

Product Type ALL KINDS OF PRODUCTS SOLD IN SUPERMARKETS WITH THE CHARACTERISTIC OF BEING ALL ECOLOGICALLY PRODUCED, COMING FROM ORGANIC AND/OR BIODINAMIC FARMS.

Reference year 1970-1985 ARIELE AND GEA 1987: Organic and Biodynamic ECOR LABELLING

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Farm description

Start point/Challange

Successful elements

Output/Effects

Organic and Biodynamic products

Company Description

Ecor is the leading company in Italy for the distribution of organic and biodynamic products. The company was born in 1987 out of a small but ambitious project; and today it account for a catalogue of more than 3800 products, nearly 200 employees and collaborators, and serve over 800 natural foods stores: the BIO-POLIS SUPERMARKETS FRANCHISING. Ecor and B’io In 1998 Gea merged with three other companies of the field, Tam of Vicenza (ex cooperative Entroterra), Farnia of Rolo (RE) and Pronatura of Gargazzone (BZ), giving birth to Ecor Spa. Since then Ecor has expanded its market, becoming the most important distributor of organic products in Italy. Ever since its inception, Ecor has chosen to invest in organic products for retail in order to promote organic farming and the work of small growers, and to defend and define specialized inland distribution. To that end, in 2002 B’io was born, an associative project in which about 250 organic stores participate today, giving birth to a chain of bio supermarkets throughout the national territory sharing under franchising contracts the same philosophy and logos and products distribution. Today, Ecor Naturasì Spa is:

a unique company with Ecor as a logistics center for goods distribution; a service centre for the B’io stores in San Vendemiano (TV), and a management centre for services in franchising for the NaturaSì

stores in Verona.

/Labelling/ Product placement/ Distribution channels

Partnerships and cooperation/ Key Words Strategies to enter in the large distribution Promotion strategies/Promotion channels

Product added value/Certifications

Why is the topic

interesting?

Product placement and strategies to create ad hoc specialized distribution channels with strong commitment in organic farming, bio-dynamic and typical products promotion, as well as ecologically oriented consumption.

2.1.1. BIOPOLIS – a successful distribution and franchising experience for organic products

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Start Point To tell the story of BIOPOLIS SUPERMARKETS we have to go back to the end of the 1970s, when the whole western world was breathing an air of change and reconstruct the origin first of ECOR labelling for distribution of organic and bio-dynamic products. The tides of 68 had already expressed this need, but from religion, as with socialistic ideology, no adequate answers were found. Into this dissatisfaction came the proposal for biodynamic agriculture, fostered by the anthroposophical view.

Farm description

Start point/Challange

Successful elements In that period, in Conegliano Veneto (TV), a group of persons met, who, after visiting a few biodynamic and anthroposophical practices abroad, decided to give life to a few initiatives that had been spurred by the same values. Output/Effects

In 1985 they opened a small store right in Conegliano, Veneto. The partnership was named Ariele, specialized in organic and biodynamic products. In this way, they gave the possibility of the market to those small growers who had started farming with this same method. In 1986 the catastrophe of Chernobyl reawakened in many people the awareness of ecological problematics. And in the whole of Italy, just as in the rest of Europe, groups of consumers opened small outlets for organic products. In this historic moment, at the request of other stores, Ariele quickly transformed itself into a small distribution that collected products from farmers and delivered them to the outlets. In 1987 from this same activity, together with a small company from Biella that exported and importend biodynamic products, arose Gea. In a short time it became Sas, then Srl, and in the end Spa. The encounter that gives a new impulse In 1992 Ecor began collaborating with a company from Verona, the Italian Reforming Institute, which then became NaturaSì, born with the purpose of creating a network of supermarkets for organic products. The relationship strengthened over the years, so much so that on October 4, 2005, it brought to pass a share exchange between the two firms, the premise to a fusion that later materialized on January 1, 2009.

Challenge

IN EVIDENCE The research for quality, inspection of the supply chain from the field to the shelf, and the constant attention to ethical implications, characterize our commitment to furnish a distribution of organic products that is continually more guaranteed and certain

A point of reference for true biodynamic agriculture Another important stage for Ecor was marked in July of 2007, when together with another biodynamic agriculturist from Molise, Valter Desiderio, and other organic dealers, it took over the management of La Fattoria Di Vaira, a farming enterprise with 500 hectares in Petacciato (CB). The objective is to cultivate products of quality according to the most rigorous biodynamic farming criteria, and also to create a qualified, outstanding Italian center for research and development with these methods.

RECALL! We propagate our idea of the

“Bio store”: not just a place to

shop for groceries, but a

location in which the

adhesion to a philosophy of

life is expressed

In search of a sustainable economy In 2008 Ecor NaturaSì acquired Baule Volante, the historical Bologna-based distributor of organic products. Thanks to an efficient managerial team, the group was reinforced through a quantitative, qualitative and tenable development. To achieve this objective one must challenge those cornerstones of the market’s economy which had little to no respect for man or the environment. And on this front, Ecor NaturaSì will not detract itself from the responsibility of seeking new ways.

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Successful elements

A symbol for the CompanyFarm description

Start point/Challange

Successful elements

Output/Effects

To explain the meaning behind the Ecor logo is like telling the history of the company. In it, in fact, there are its values and mission, all in an effective, graphical synthesis. The combination of meanings which the logo encapsulates also outlines the social and cultural interests of the founders, the Steiner philosophy, and biodynamic agriculture. It identifies 4 companies of the field that are united in Ecor to give life to an entrepreneurial reality that is more competitive, and to improve the value of the product with consideration of the people and the environment. In the very same name one can recognize a summary of the founding motivations and ideals. “Ecor” from “Eco” as in ecology and economy, and “Cor” as in cuore (“heart” in Italian language), the organ that regulates the blood flow in the organism and detects its needs.

+ The geometric form chosen is a square with four sides, just like the founding companies. But also it is the symbol of the earth and concreteness, for the ideal of man must decrease in everyday life.

Within a green background, the colour that is reminiscent of nature, a figure is inserted that reminds us of the lemniscate. A unique curve in the form of an eight, which is used to represent the processes of plant development, or more generally, the passage between one reality and another. Extending this meaning to the activity of Ecor, we can interpret it as a passage between agricultural production and consumption or between economic activity and culture.

+

The lemniscate in the Ecor logo assumes an open form that can be seen as a bud (a symbol of growth, evolution, and also of respect for bio-diversity) or as a heart, the form most distinguishable for communicating love, which is the remedy.

+ A strong Commitment for the Company

Ecor’s objective is to promote organic and biodynamic agriculture and typical products while contributing to the well-being of people and society. Its mission, therefore, is the distribution of organic and biodynamic and typical products with the intent of uniting economy and ecology. For this reason, the company and its chain of stores/supermarkets propagate the idea of the “Bio store”: not just a place to shop for groceries, but a location in which the adhesion to a philosophy of life is expressed. The company search for the highest quality organic products, the renewal of agricultural activity and organic development for the merchants and the consumers, strongly convinced that culture should be the moral and substantial basis of their work. All of their choices are based on certain foundational principles: respect for the environment, transparency towards the producer and consumer and, support of organic and biodynamic farming.

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Ecor has a “cultural project aimed to invest in the development and knowledge of human resources involved in the supply chain: from consumers to dealers, from suppliers to employees. It is with this objective that Ecor has created the ambitious project “Valore Alimentare”. It is expressed in 3 ways:

- initiatives of development for the employees - a permanent school for those who work in the distribution of organic

products - a magazine covering the topics of organic nutrition, addressed to

consumers

Farm description

Start point/Challange

Successful elements

Output/Effects

Ecor’s commitment to the future can be represented by four strategic directions: Appreciation of the internal community The people that work in Ecor are the primary resource for the company’s development. We recognize the diversity of talents as a fundamental value, and promote teamwork and the well-being of personnel through internal marketing initiative and company climate analysis. Satisfaction of stores/clients and improvement of the outlet network The growing synergy with the supermarkets NaturaSì, the primary organic franchising chain in Italy, and the stores with the B’io and BIOPOLIS insignia, will contribute to extending and reinforcing the outlet network for organic products, aiming at new openings and expanding existing areas. The complete and specialized package of services that Ecor is able to supply has been designed to meet the needs of their merchant clients, and through them, the needs of their consumers. Allergies and nutritional intolerances as well as an increasing attention to one’s health, requires a professionalism in sales and assistance. Quality and collaboration with producers To stock stores with organic products of superior quality and of a distinct social image is the daily commitment of Ecor. For this reason Ecor take interest in the relationships with their suppliers, not only in the inspection of activity, but also to find together the way to improve the organoleptic and organic quality of the products, and to guarantee an organic farming that cares for the ecosystem. Internationalization Ecor aim to grow with a European perspective, creating lasting collaboration and partnerships with economical workers of other countries, sharing experiences and creating synergy. Culture The activity of distribution and the sale of organic products strongly depend on the culture. Ecor invest, therefore, in the development of collaborators and merchants to intensify the drive behind their work. But they also promote organic culture among consumers, so that they know the values and advantages of organic nutrition.

Ecor’s webpages in English: http://www.ecor.it/homepage.asp?lin2=eng Ecor’s pages on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Ecor.it Web-magazine: http://www.valorealimentare.it/ultimo-numero/ Web-magazine: http://www.cuorebio.it/ NATURA SI Stores: http://www.naturasi.eu/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=1 Organic and bio-dynamic ethical portal: http://www.biobank.it/it/indexBIO.asp Websites of fairs of Natural products: www.naturalproductexpo.com; www.sana.it; www.ecomondo.com www.utopieconcrete.it Media: www.consumietici.it www.ilgiornaledelcibo.it www.lifegate.it www.lanuovaecologia.it www.ilvinobiologico.it Documentation centres: www.organic-europe.net Bio-dynamic principles : http://www.rudolfsteiner.it/ Commitment with fair trade networks of stores : http://www.fairtrade.net/

Further investigations

Output/Effects

2.1.1. BIOPOLIS – a successful distribution and franchising experience for organic products

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