Finisterestes29
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Upcycling
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Short distribution
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Sustainable food
- Reduced inequality
- Responsible consumption and production
- Action against climate change
Pitch
Presentation
Finisterestes29, a Breton company, was set up at the end of 2021 to combat food waste. Based on the alarming fact that perfectly edible fruit and vegetables are thrown away simply because they do not meet the aesthetic standards of supermarkets, the company has developed a model that recovers out-of-calibre fruit, vegetables, fish, meat and cheese directly from producers. These products, known as ‘sorting discrepancies’, which do not meet the specifications of the major retailers, are thus saved from the bin. The company adds value to these foods while reducing the costs associated with waste, thereby enabling producers to be better paid. At the same time, consumers benefit from quality products at more attractive prices, up to 30-50% cheaper than on the supermarket shelves. Finisterestes29 relies on a solid network of over 2,500 French producers, including 1,800 in Brittany. Its products are sold through a network of ten of its own shops, as well as through more than 70 partner relay points, which offer them in the form of ‘anti-gaspi’ baskets, notably via the TooGoodToGo app. Since its inception, the company has enjoyed strong commercial growth, with sales of €2.4m in its first year, rising by 38% to €3.3m by 2023. With more than 9,000 tonnes of recycled products, the company is aiming for sales of nearly €4m by 2024. Faced with growing consumer demand, and with a view to accelerating its expansion into other regions of France, Finisterestes29 is raising €4m. An initial tranche of €1.3m has already been invested by Blast Club, and the rest of the round is currently being finalised, with €1m secured from an institutional investor. The company is now calling on private individuals via LITA.co to invest between €500k and €1m in shares in order to continue this major mission.
Play your part in reducing food waste by investing in the development of a company that, in just two years, has become the French leader in anti-gaspi vegetable baskets, making the most of out-of-date produce and making food more accessible to as many people as possible!
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Team
One founder, 33 employees
With 25 years' experience in the supermarket sector, Karim Vincent-Viry has held a variety of commercial and strategic management positions in supermarket distribution and vegetable purchasing, including Director of Sales and Development Fresh'Nov/Prince de Bretagne in 2019-2020, Director of Fruit and Vegetable Purchasing for the Casino Group from 2011 to 2015, and Hypermarket Director in 1998-2000, and a member of Interfel for several years. In 2022, he bought Keltivia (Kulture29), a distributor (shipper and exporter) of fresh vegetables from Brittany, which generated sales of €15m in 2022 but was experiencing major difficulties, for a symbolic €1. In 2021, he set up Finisterestes29. He will be in charge of supplies and relations with cooperatives/producers, as well as strategy and finance. He is accompanied by Emilien Taverniers, Operations Manager. A former Artistic Director at France Food and Project Manager at Fraich Connection, he has both marketing/digital and operational experience. At Finisterestes29, he oversees operations and support functions (marketing with website and social networks, HR, IT). The team is made up of 33 people, most of whom are multi-skilled in preparing baskets and selling in the company's own shops.
Challenges
Food waste represents about 1.3 billion tons annually, which is one-third of global production. In France, 10 million tons of food products are discarded each year. Of these losses, 33% concern fruits and vegetables. Judged too small, too large, or not meeting supermarket specifications, more than two out of ten will not make it to the shelves even though they are consumable. Beyond agriculture, unsold products are also very common in fishing (50%), livestock (40%), and cheese production (10%). For producers, financial losses are significant due to sorting discrepancies: a report from Ademe shows that these 10 million tons of unutilized products represent a loss of €16 billion, 15.3 million tons of CO2, or 3% of greenhouse gases in France. At the same time, social inequalities related to access to healthy food are widening: some consumers face difficulties obtaining quality food that meets their nutritional needs. The high prices of healthy food products make it difficult to access a balanced diet, even as consumers witness massive food waste throughout the supply chain: during agricultural production (32%), product processing (21%), distribution and transport (14%), in restaurants (14%), and at home consumption (19%). It is clear that the most significant waste occurs upstream of distribution (53%). This is where Finisterestes29 comes into play.
Solutions
Finisterestes29 fights against food waste by directly recovering fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, and cheeses that do not meet the strict specifications of large retailers from producers. By avoiding costs associated with food waste, the company enables better compensation for producers while allowing consumers to access quality products at lower prices. Every day, more than 100 varieties of products are collected from over 2,500 partner producers, most of whom are cooperatives and farms from Brittany and Normandy. Specifically, Finisterestes29 is a purchasing cooperative that creates "anti-waste" baskets, representing 10 to 15 tons of fruits and vegetables per day or 800 kg to 1 ton of fish each week. Beyond its clear ecological commitment, Finisterestes29 aims to raise consumer awareness about the importance of responsible purchasing, while providing products that are cheaper than those found in traditional supply chains. The pricing of products addresses the accessibility issues faced by low-income populations. Additionally, by distributing some of its baskets through partner pickup points (independent stores, chains seeking additional revenue, etc.), the company intends to create a chain of solidarity and increase foot traffic to these stores, allowing them to boost their revenue. Finisterestes29 encourages rethinking food distribution models (such as relaxing product specifications and minimum shelf life requirements, and creating economic value in partner pickup points).
Economic model
Finisterestes29 derives most of its revenue from the sale of fruit and vegetable baskets (€5 to €6 including VAT per standard basket, representing between €0.8 to €1.5 per kg). A portion of the revenue also comes from the sale of other anti-waste products, including meat, fish, and dry groceries. Consumers purchase products through two main channels: ten company-operated pickup points (78% of revenue at the end of 2023) in Brittany, where baskets and other products (meat, fish, cheese, etc.) are distributed; and 70 non-company pickup points (22% of revenue at the end of 2023) in the Grand-Ouest and Île-de-France regions, which are independent stores or chains seeking to diversify their revenue streams. Customers reserve and buy their baskets through the Finisterestes29 app or TooGoodToGo (+330 million views on the app in two years). More recently, the company has developed an offer for three restaurants, providing them with downgraded products to create anti-waste menus (starter/main course/dessert for €11.99). Since then, the restaurant Quai Ouest in Saint Pol de Léon, for example, has been fully booked. Finally, in September 2024, Finisterestes announced a strategic partnership with La Poste, which will distribute baskets in about fifty of its pickup points in Brittany. Since its inception, the company has seen significant commercial traction, with €2.4 million in revenue in its first year, €3.3 million in 2023 (+38%). It aims for nearly €4 million in 2024, reflecting the appeal of the concept for consumers (price, simplicity), producers (cost avoidance, better compensation), and distributors (increased traffic to their stores).
Long term impact
Finisterestes29's mission generates positive impacts on several levels:
- Reducing food waste in France: the company now recycles more than 10 tonnes of fruit and vegetables a day that were originally destined to be thrown away, the equivalent of 4,000 baskets a day.
- Access to quality food at lower cost: the very attractive price positioning of the products responds to the food accessibility difficulties of precarious populations
- Increased income for producers: the company provides producers with solutions to reduce the loss of raw materials by systematically implementing recycling practices, in order to reduce food waste upstream of distribution, and thus enable producers to be better paid.