In the run up to Christmas 2018, ESM is proud to present a recap of some of our biggest articles of the year, exclusively for Premium website subscribers. At the start of the year, we ventured to Belgium to meet Jo Ghilain, business-unit manager of Colruyt Group’s ambitious Bio-Planet chain. This article first appeared in ESM Issue 1 2018.
Sometimes, being first makes all the difference. When Colruyt unveiled its first Bio-Planet outlet, in Kortrijk, south-west of Ghent, back in 2001, the world was perhaps not ready for such an ambitious concept: all products sold in the store are of organic origin, while all materials used in the stores’ construction are, similarly, as eco-friendly as possible.
Fast forward 17 years, however, and Bio-Planet now operates 29 stores across Belgium, with ambitious plans to grow this to 60 in the years to come. Organic has come of age, and Bio-Planet is well positioned to take advantage of this opportunity.
