2 million baguettes sold per day. This chain competes with traditional bakeries thanks to a well -established strategy.
The bakery is French trade par excellence. More than 39,000 establishments mark out the country, according to CMA France. If a decline in the number of such brands had been observed in the 2000s, the number of openings has increased in recent years.
The French are still very attached to craft bakeries: according to data from the National Confederation of French Bakery, they represent 60% of bread sales, against 31% for cooking terminals and 9% for supermarkets. The sector has also evolved with the multiplication of the products offered: sandwich, salad, pizza, quiche, pastries …
Large bakery channels have also emerged and found their customers. This is the case of Marie Blachère, the first establishment of which was created in 2004 in Salon-de-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône). Today, the chain has more than 800 establishments, rather established in small medium -sized municipalities and cities. Marie Blachère sells 2 million baguettes daily, for a turnover of 1.1 billion euros in 2023.
How to explain such success? Marie Blachère has developed her own wand: shorter and wider, she is standardized in all the group’s points of sale. Many offers are also available: products are available at half price for the last thirty minutes of opening of the store or the four baguettes are sold for the price of three.
This is what the Bonial and Ipsos surveyconducted with 10,000 consumers in 2024 and classifying 19 specialized food brands. The Marie Blachère bakeries arrive in second position, behind large fresh, teaches the most attractive in this category. They are both distinguished in four criteria: value for money, prices attractiveness as well as the frequency and generosity of promotions.
In addition, the quality of the chopsticks is pretty good. The classic white baguette obtained the note of 13.3/20 per UFC what to choosewho compared with those from Paul, the crumb cuddly and Louise bakery. She surpasses the baguettes of the other three chains. His wholemeal bread is even in the first position of all the breads tested for this survey with the note of 16/20 and a Nutri Score A.
Marie Blachère is however criticized to compete with small local bakeries. Its founder, Bernard Blachère, defended himself with the Point In 2024, recalling that when it started “there were around 30,000 bakeries in France. Twenty years later, there are still as much”.