The Lille wholesale market (formerly Lomme MIN market) - the second largest fruit and vegetable wholesale market in France after Rungis - has undergone a number of changes since its creation in 1972. Renamed Euralimentaire, it is now part of the economic strategy of the Lille European Metropolis (MEL), which aims to turn the site into a center of excellence dedicated to food. Last week, the FreshPlaza teams set out to meet the people who are bringing this fast-changing site to life.
Euralimentaire represents 60 wholesalers specialized in fruit and vegetables, including 2 specialized in flowers, 25 producers, 2,200 buyers (restaurants, open-air markets, greengrocers, supermarkets, restaurants, canteens), €228 million [258 million USD] in turnover, and 1,200,000 tons of fresh fruit and vegetables sold.
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Euralimentaire: MEL's 5th site of excellence dedicated to food
For almost twenty years, the Lille European Metropolis has been engaged in a profound transformation of its economic territory. By focusing on 'sites of excellence', it has structured a number of strategic clusters around priority sectors, starting with health with Eurasanté (the very first in 1996) and technology with Euratechnologies. But with the creation of Euralimentaire (its 5th and latest site), MEL is tackling the food sector. In 2019, the Lomme wholesale market will be revamped and downgraded to become the Lille Euralimentaire wholesale market. With this semi-privatization, wholesalers can become owners of their business premises. "A unique management model almost identical to that of the Lyon wholesale market. Collective decisions are taken in a way similar to that of a co-ownership union," explains Thomas Vincent, managing director of the Euralimentaire site.
Thomas Vincent, director of the Euralimentaire site
Euralimentaire continues to densify
The Euralimentaire site continues its momentum with new projects: modernizing infrastructures, intensifying activities, and diversifying services. The first will take the form of a totem-shaped building, "symbol of this site of excellence," to replace the current office building at the site entrance. With four floors, the new building will house a co-working space and offices for professionals in the sector. Euralimentaire also intends to become a value-adding center: a new 6,500 m² building will be dedicated to processing and diversifying the activities of wholesalers. The Producers' Floor (Carreau des Producteurs) - which gathered almost 200 producers in the 1970s, compared with around 50 producers today - will soon house 2,000 m² of production, processing units, and cold storage space.
But the Euralimentaire site is also working on last-mile logistics with a working group that includes the port and city of Lille. In order to take sustainability a step further and reduce its carbon footprint, the "umbrellas" overhanging the site's walkways will also be fitted with photovoltaic panels in the near future.
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Start-up incubator: Innovation at the heart of the Euralimentaire site
Euralimentaire will also include an innovation site. In 2019, when the site was inaugurated, the Lille European Metropolis made no secret of its ambition to make the Euralimentaire site a benchmark for foodtech. Since 2016, the site has been home to a start-up incubator and 1,000 m² dedicated to supporting projects. To date, more than 130 initiatives have been supported, 55 businesses created, more than 240 jobs generated, and more than €20 million [23 million USD] raised. Among the projects in progress (nearly 50) are Nolow, a low-sugar non-alcoholic drink, Kaffi, a fizzy drink made from coffee, endive, and adaptogenic mushrooms, and Les Poppés de Ferm Fabrik, which offers lentil chips produced by using pressure and heating (technology known as poppage) instead of frying.
Rémi Verstraete, director of the Start-Up Incubator
Euralimentaire helps to promote fruit and vegetables in the Hauts-de-France region
As part of its drive to establish itself as a center of excellence for fresh produce, Euralimentaire also helps to promote fruit and vegetables locally. The Hauts-de-France region is a leader in terms of production: it ranks 2nd among vegetable-producing regions in France after the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, and it is the leading supplier of potatoes and endives. However, local consumption is stagnating and even declining. Despite a surge in consumption during Covid, it is now back to only 135 kg per household per year, compared with a national average of 160 kg. According to Hélène Meli and Amandine Cochet, president and delegate of the Interfel Hauts-de-France regional committee, this is due firstly to economic reasons and secondly to cultural reasons, with cheese and charcuterie being the most popular products. The regional interprofessional committee is responsible for promoting the consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables in the region through communication. In 2022, for example, the committee organized a "Taste in Color" festival for the general public, in conjunction with the wholesale market.
Schools and associations can also visit the wholesale market thanks to Ecole des Marchés, an association founded by wholesalers. The aim is to show how the site works, what wholesalers do and, above all, what fruit and vegetables are all about," explains Pascal Delval, vice-president of the association.
Amandine Cochet, delegate of the Interfel Hauts-de-France regional committee, presents the work of the interprofession at the local level.
A differentiating offer for Belgian buyers
Located close to the Lille-Paris-Dunkirk highway network, Euralimentaire supplies a large part of France. But its geographical location also enables it to stand out on the other side of the border. As Yves Mustel, president of the Euralimentaire wholesalers' professional chamber and SITAL, explains, "the Lille wholesale market is easily accessible from the Netherlands and Germany, but above all from Belgium. With the Brussels ring becoming increasingly congested, many Belgian buyers prefer Lille for their supplies. It is easier to get to for those who come from western Belgium, especially as it gives them a differentiated and highly diversified offer. Nearly 200 Belgian buyers crowd the aisles of the Lille wholesale market, and the number continues to rise.
Yves Mustel