Region: The naked drive revitalizes “zero waste” shopping

Salomé (g.) et Pierre Géraud (d.), fondateurs du Drive Tout Nu. DR – DR

Created in 2018 in Toulouse, Le Drive Tout Nu aims to combine the simplicity of supermarket service with the responsible behavior of shopping without waste. The chain has enjoyed great success with several installations and a supermarket in Toulouse, and has just opened branches in Lille and Bordeaux.

Le Drive Tout Nu is a network of zero-waste supermarkets and drives that was created in 2018 in the Toulouse region, and has been growing ever since. Its goal is clear: to democratize zero-waste consumption by making it “simpler, more practical, more accessible”, explains Salomé Géraud, who created the company with her husband, Pierre.

The start-up found that, despite the growing awareness of the dangers of plastic on the environment and health, consumers were not massively engaging in zero waste consumption. “The observation was quite simple for us. There is no solution that is practical, widespread in the territories, and at an affordable price”, underlines Salomé Géraud.

The existing offer was then concentrated in city centers, with bulk grocery stores often incomplete and expensive. Le Drive Tout Nu therefore focused on ease of use, taking inspiration from traditional mass distribution. “We really wanted to find a system that combines the ease of use offered by mass distribution with zero waste and responsible consumption”.

So, the company has a simple concept: like a traditional drive, customers place an order online and collect their ordered products, of any kind, within an hour. The latter are pre-packaged in reusable containers within an hour. “We take care of washing them and putting them back into the circuit, the idea is that it is completely circular”, explains Salomé Géraud. The company does not apply deposits, the jars are offered and customers are rewarded with 10-euro vouchers for each container returned.

Product sourcing is a key element of the Drive Tout Nu model. “We have three main criteria”, explains Salomé Géraud. “The first is zero waste. We only work with producers and suppliers who agree to take this approach with us”. The company works with small local producers, but also with industrialists like Lustucru or Michel et Augustin. “We firmly believe that we won't get there alone and that we have to bring them on board with us to make them change”, confides Salomé Géraud.

The second criterion is proximity. “A minimum of 60% of the products we offer come from a farm located less than 100 km from the point of sale”, specifies the co-founder. The third criterion is quality.“All the products we are going to offer are of quality. For example, all our fruits and vegetables are organic.”

A national installation in the pipeline

Le Drive Tout Nu opened its first point of sale in 2018 in the north of Toulouse. Today, the company of 65 employees has five drives in Toulouse, a physical supermarket, offers home delivery throughout the Toulouse metropolitan area, and has just opened a drive in Lille and one in Bordeaux. “In the next steps, the development plan for Drive Tout Nu will really be to bring the businesses in these cities to the same level as the Toulouse cluster”, explains Salomé Géraud.

In addition, the company then plans to establish itself in other regions, notably in Rhône-Alpes, Brittany and of course, continue to develop in Occitanie with a planned establishment in Montpellier. The company has a logistics platform in Toulouse, which serves the southwest.

The company raised 5 million euros in 2022 to finance its development. “Our sales units are profitable”, specifies Salomé Géraud. “Drives like the supermarket are profitable establishments, and generate money. This proves that the business model exists and is viable." The fundraising allowed us to finance the support team, equipment, marketing and communication.

"We will raise funds again at the beginning of next year. This will be the last", announces Salomé Géraud. The company is aiming for a profitability shift in 2025 and a positive first year the following year. "We are coming to the end of the fundraising process, we will then move to SME mode", concludes Salomé Géraud.

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