Problem addressed

In 2012, association activists and committed professionals came to a shared realisation regarding the decline in purchasing power – and consequently in consumption – amongst residents of these neighbourhoods: what people buy, consume or use has an impact on many aspects of their personal, family and social lives. The idea of proposing an alternative way of consuming – to boost people’s ability to cope with precarious circumstances, enhance their self-esteem and promote individual and collective agency – was born.

A study was then undertaken by the association, confirming the following findings:
1. A widening of socio-economic inequalities between residents of working-class neighbourhoods and the rest of the population.
2. Increased discrimination regarding access to consumer goods.
3. A diet leading to health and social problems amongst vulnerable groups.
4. Marked social isolation in working-class neighbourhoods

Innovative solution

The VRAC project arose from the idea of developing a cooperative approach to group buying of food and household products, as well as services. VRAC thus addresses, on the one hand, the demand for affordable, high-quality products amongst local residents and, on the other, the shortfall in food supply (a lack of local shops and an under-representation of discount stores) in some of the working-class neighbourhoods of the Lyon metropolitan area.

Indeed, by cutting out various intermediaries, developing short supply chains, offering bulk delivery, and involving local residents in the process of converting bulk goods into retail units and distributing the products, the VRAC concept enables goods to be sold at the producer’s purchase price.

The VRAC project thus lies at the intersection of several areas of intervention: consumption and food, social cohesion, citizenship, individual and collective empowerment, and the social and solidarity economy.

Key results and benefits

23 areas covered thanks to the work of 22 organisations
143 buying groups
12,300 member households and around 36,450 people reached
2,515 volunteer members
90 staff members

Potential for mainstreaming

The VRAC association promotes the development of buying groups in priority neighbourhoods under the policy across 23 regions, through 22 associations, in France (Lyon, Saint-Étienne, Montpellier, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Nantes, Rennes, Finistère, Hauts-de-France, Artois, Paris, Strasbourg, Avignon, Pays d’Arles, Plaine Commune, Seine Ouest, Saint-Paul, Pau-Béarn, Mulhouse and Tours) and in Belgium (Brussels and Charleroi).

VRAC is supported by an umbrella association, VRAC France, as well as an endowment fund that raises private funding for the entire network. VRAC France is responsible for expanding the project by setting up new branches in collaboration with local organisations that approach the association, by supporting existing associations (in areas such as communications, human resources and procurement), and by facilitating collaboration between associations (through national seminars and shared working sessions).

VRAC is a laureate of the 2017–2018 cohort of the P'INS scale-up support programme, jointly run by Fondation Macif and Avise.