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December 27, 2022

The Power of Franchising in Enabling Low-income Consumers to Access Organic Vegetables in Burkina Faso

Fresh Produce
Burkina Faso

Created in 2011, BioProtect is an enterprise in Burkina Faso that offers innovative solutions to secure production and increase harvests, while remaining environmentally friendly. Its mission is to make agro-ecology the most widespread agricultural model in Burkina Faso. It is in this perspective that he accompanies farmers in the production of ecological and organic fruits and vegetables. Over the seasons, the producers have found themselves confronted with the problem of selling their produce due to their lack of access to organic markets. In order to facilitate the producers of its network to have commercial outlets, Bioprotect decided to market the fruits and vegetables under the brand " ECOBIO Panier " through its stores and franchises.

Innovating the BioProtect franchise model

BioProtect's approach is to act as an intermediary between producers and consumers. Upstream, the direct collaboration between BioProtect and producers facilitates access to organic inputs, disseminates good production practices and reduces operating costs. Downstream, the establishment of franchises promotes access for all to quality vegetables in terms of price and proximity. In addition, the outlets use digital platforms such as Facebook to reach a larger number of consumers. The specificity of BioProtect's franchise model is that in addition to offering its brand, its know-how as well as a permanent technical assistance, BioProtect also helps in the setting up of this franchise with a support either in the supply of shelves, branding, or any other element necessary to the start-up of the franchise activities. Arsène Sawadogo, General Administrator of BioProtect explains:

We have two types of franchises. The total franchise and the partial franchise. For the total franchise, we bring a contribution of 150.000 FCFA which includes branding, the supply of shelves, furniture, and we also ensure the training of the franchisee on the products of Bioprotect. However, for the partial franchise, we do not make any contribution since the franchisee already has an equipped room. It is just the provision of our products.

To date, Bioprotect, through its trade name "EcoBio Panier", has 2 total franchises, one in Ouagadougou and another in Ouahigouya, as well as 3 partial franchises in the city of Ouagadougou. In order to reach the low-income consumers more easily, it also has resellers located at the Laarlé market, which is supplied daily.

This relationship of trust between the franchises and BioProtect favors the availability of products, but also allows all social classes to benefit from the benefits of organic products. In addition, it should be added that this relationship is also beneficial in terms of youth inclusion, because it promotes job creation, thus reducing the unemployment rate.

Brand awareness, job creation and more

It is true that a large part of the population is still unable to distinguish between organic, ecological and conventional products, but it is clear that Bioprotect's products are well appreciated by a large part of the population.

The establishment of micro-franchises has allowed BioProtect to popularize its Ecobio brand, while making the products available in several places in the country's major cities. In addition, the companies in the BioProtect network have benefited from capacity building on merchandising, good hygiene practices, sales techniques, digital marketing, etc.

As usual, organic and ecological products have always been considered more expensive and only available in large stores. But with its franchise model, BioProtect manages to reach all segments of the population, especially the BoP in the working class neighborhoods of Ouagadougou, Ouahigouya, Bobo Dioulasso or Koudougou.

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