France Tightens Anti-Food Waste Rules — Phenix helps retailers meet these new standards while actually improving their margins.

France’s reformed Anti-Food Waste Label just shifted from good intentions to hard metrics – and our portfolio company Phenix is helping retailers meet these new standards while actually improving their margins.

Today, French retail generates only 8% of national food waste, yet faces the strictest reporting requirements in Europe. Starting this month, stores must track “net waste” – products that end up in bins despite all recovery efforts. No more counting donations as success if you’re still throwing away perfectly good food.

Simon Baldeyrou, Phenix‘s CEO, explains in Ecommercemag how these new requirements are reshaping retail operations – and how Phenix is turning compliance into competitive advantage:

The operational reality: Stores using Phenix‘s platform cut their net waste by 20-30% within months. Not through complex behavioral change programmes, but through basic visibility – knowing what’s about to expire, where surplus accumulates, which products never sell.

What actually works: The best-performing stores now recover 95% of unsold inventory through a mix of channels Phenix coordinates: marked-down sales, food bank donations, animal feed, and transformation into new products.

The human element: In three-star certified stores, every single employee knows the difference between best-before and use-by dates, understands donation protocols, and can spot products approaching critical dates. This isn’t corporate training theatre – auditors now interview staff directly to verify competency.

Why this matters for food retailers: 84% of French consumers say they choose retailers based on waste credentials. That’s not virtue signalling – it’s market share. The reformed label turns compliance into competitive advantage, and Phenix provides the infrastructure to capture it.

Read more HERE.