While 2020 was marked by the coronavirus crisis, the Rungis market had a "very good year".
On Europe 1, in "La France bouge", its president Stéphane Layani and several producers insist on the importance of Christmas, but also on the evolution of consumer behavior.
DECRYPTION
Despite a very specific context, necessarily marked by the coronavirus epidemic and the uncertainties linked to Brexit, 2020 will have been "a very good year" for the Rungis market, as its president Stéphane Layani confirmed on Europe 1 on Wednesday. While orders explode on Christmas Eve, players in Europe's largest wholesale market have also been able to adapt to the implementation of the two lockdowns, and have supported their businesses.
Result: no liquidation in 2020.
A "effervescence" before Christmas
"It's going very well" on the eve of the end of the year celebrations, rejoices Stéphane Layani, guest of
La France bouge
, who expects "even greater excitement" for December 24 and 25.
“Traditionally, in December, we do two months in one,” he continues.
"And this year, I don't know what happened, but people asked me for more foie gras, more free-range poultry, more shellfish."
>> LIVE -
Coronavirus: follow the evolution of the situation Wednesday 23 December
"It's been swarming for two to three weeks," confirms Mickaël Piffard-Besnard, president of the French group Byzance, specializing in seafood, and founder of the "Bellota Bellota" brand, which notes "a really growing demand" .
Since the beginning of December, "we are at + 30, + 40, + 50%, or even more on certain products".
After a year marked by anxiety-provoking news, the French say they are "carpe diem", thinks the producer, supported by Henri d'Agostino, owner of the Cave de Rungis, and historical figure of the market, also invited Monday from
La France bouge
.
"Everyone needs to get together, to party a little," he explains at the microphone of Europe 1.
"We worked a lot on the brand"
Beyond the effervescence caused by the imminent Christmas, the actors of Rungis note a change in consumer behavior, undoubtedly linked in part to confinements.
"They cook for themselves twice a day, they prefer to vary the pleasures", analyzes Stéphane Layani.
"And who better than Rungis to serve their local shops?"
"People have discovered the traditional trade a little more," notes Véronique Gillardeau, oyster farmer, president of the Maison Blanc and co-manager of the family house Gillardeau.
For Mickaël Piffard-Besnard, people "are fed up with pasta and rice. Everyone wants to eat good food, to know where it comes from".
This success can also be explained by the upstream work carried out by Rungis management.
"We have worked a lot on the brand by explaining what the quality and taste of a product is", assures Stéphane Layani.
Moreover, he adds, "Monoprix has signed a licensing agreement" with the market, and since "their sales have increased".
The limited impact of restaurant closures
"The closure of the restaurant is for us very bad news", wishes first to specify the president of the market of Rungis, saying "solidarity" with the distress of the restaurant owners, who represent 13% of the customers of Rungis.
But, he recalls, "the restaurateurs have not been completely inactive", and "have made 'click and collect' which allowed them to survive and to make ends meet".
And on the other hand, wholesalers have also adapted themselves, and "have developed" digital "solutions.
CORONAVIRUS ESSENTIALS
> Covid-19 vaccines: what do we really know about their side effects?
> What do we know about "long Covid", these patients who are going through hell?
> These three facets of the coronavirus that you may not have heard of
> When are we in contact?
And other questions that we ask ourselves every day
> Coronavirus: the 5 mistakes not to make with your mask
Business support
In the field, oyster farmer Véronique Gillardeau notes that in the markets, the fishmongers "have really taken a good volume that we had lost with the catering".
And while the health crisis has also led to an economic crisis, "there has not been a single liquidation this year" at Rungis, welcomes Stéphane Layani, while "usually there are twenty liquidations per year" .
President of Rungis International Market, @slayani: “The market is going well, we were able to adapt to the two confinements.” # Europe1pic.twitter.com/jU4wk1cUTW
- Europe 1 (@ Europe1) December 23, 2020
During the crisis, "the managing authority took charge of a solidarity fund of 4 million euros which enabled us to provide targeted aid to companies that needed it", explains Stéphane Layani. A solidarity effort that will continue in 2021. "There were rent exemptions, up to three months of rent during the first confinement, and we will do more for the second," concludes the boss of the food market.