How did the company start ?

The company was set up by Philippe and Jean-Patrice Quenedey. It actually began in March 2001, at the Salon International de l’Agriculture where we made our first sales, and our platform was already located at Rungis. We marketed about 150 listed products, mostly cheeses and some fruit and vegetables, supplied by the producers who were willing to give us a chance. Our first clients were friends and family. For the first four years, there were four of us and we did everything from sourcing the orders, preparing them, deliveries, etc…

How did it develop ?

We set up a platform at New Covent Garden to deliver French residents in London in 2005. We have 32 staff today, with 14 in England. At first, our meat supplier (Sicaba in Bourbon l’Archambault - 03) used to ship us every day 15 pieces of quality-label beef (Charolaise), sliced, packaged and labelled with the client’s name. Today, it supplies us €20,000 of meat/month, or less than 1% of its turnover. For the cheeses (150 listed products, second cash earner after meat), we work in partnership with Eric Lefebvre, a ripener and MOF 2004. These are followed by fruit and vegetables, seafood products and groceries. In terms of volumes, fruit and vegetables (150 listed products) are in the lead, followed by meat/cooked meats/prepared foods, dairy products, seafood products and groceries. Our line contains 2,500 listed products, with 1,900 in fresh produce and 600 dried food products. The line is supplied by 150 small, local suppliers for the most part. All our products are traceable. As the only general food distributor online, our turnover is growing 40% annually. We have a website, the gourmet boutique, devoted to top-of-the-range gastronomic products.

What are your procurement sources ?

70% of our procurement comes from top quality, original independent suppliers and 30% from Rungis Market. We sell no brand products. Every year, a portion of our products (30/40) are ‘gold medallists’ at the Concours Agricole de Paris. Using just-in-time management for financial and freshness reasons, our platform (1,300 m2 at Rungis) is sized to orders, not products.

What is your clientele ?

We attract between 100,000 and 120,000 visitors/month with a 2% conversion rate. The average shopping basket is €155 (minimum purchase €70). The average age is 35-45 years old. In the provinces, the heaviest concentration of buyers is in the PACA region (Menton, Nice, etc.), mostly seniors with high purchasing power. The clients are younger in the Paris region. The spread is even between Paris and the provinces. We deliver the provinces by Chronopost with our special patented packaging (the cold pack system), used worldwide. In Paris, we use our electric delivery tricycles (capacity: 100 kg goods), which we designed and patented.

What is the interest of e-commerce in foodstuffs and its prospects ?

In the face of various food crises, having producers sell to consumers is one way to reassure the latter and give meaning to the purchase. It also shortens the geographic distance between producers and consumers, representing a time-saver for the latter.

E-commerce in food products is steadily growing. The system is more secure and accessible, with connections available everywhere. We are just at the beginning of the phenomenon, in Year 2 of the market. In France, the margin for growth is still significant, compared to other European countries like England, where the market is more mature. For 2008, our delivery times were further reduced.

What do you think of Rungis ?

Rungis is a crossroads and a logistics platform of prime importance and we have been here since Natoora started up. For us, Rungis is a procurement source that is growing in terms of volumes and the development of e-commerce in food products. Rungis is becoming unavoidable.