Bonpreu is committed to zero-kilometer fresh products, a part of its customers' basket that is growing more and more. The distribution group, the first with Catalan capital, earned 314 million euros in 2023, 12% more than in the previous year, with an offer based on a network of 600 Catalan suppliers. The company's turnover was 2,259 million euros last year, almost 9% more, so the proximity fresh produce item represents 14% of the total, a proportion that grows when producers from the rest of Spain are taken into account.
The supermarket chain based in Les Masies de Voltregà seeks local suppliers of fruit, vegetables, meat, cold cuts, fish, oils, wines, and cavas to offer their products on its shelves. "Our purchasing policy is made from the territory. We are from here, we know what our customers want and we strive to have those products rooted in each region," remarks the head of purchasing, Neus Roca.
With an offer consisting of 2,400 fresh references, meat and fruit and vegetables take the largest share. In fruit and vegetables alone, it works with 51 suppliers to sell 210 references, with an investment of 38 million euros last year, 15% more. In the case of meat, with its own workshop in Balenyà where it cuts its lamb and kid, it has 300 references distributed by 45 suppliers, of which almost 90% are Catalan. The outlay on buying proximity meat in 2023 was 105 million euros, 19% more. Fish is bought daily at Mercabarna.
"If it is produced in Catalonia, it is always bought in Catalonia," Roca summarizes. With a history of fifty years, Bonpreu and Esclat supermarkets not only buy from local producers but also help them preserve traditions, such as the recovery of the Bruna breed of cow from the Pyrenees, which has not only allowed its meat to be commercialized but also to produce cheese, the only one made with milk from an indigenous bovine breed.
An essential part of selling fresh products are the professionals who handle them in establishments, a profile difficult to find, according to Bonpreu executives. For this reason, they invest one million euros each year in training future employees of the company through three training centers, located in Malla, Valls, and Barcelona. The company, also owner of EsclatOil gas stations and the BonpreuEsclat Energia marketer, plans to open a fourth in Palafrugell at the end of the year. Each year they train 1,000 employees.