Epi c'est bon!

What Epi c'est bon! does

Epi c'est bon! is a non-profit solidarity cooperative founded in 2019 in Lyon, France, operating as both a grocery store (épicerie) and canteen (cantine) under the brand "Epicerie & Cantine Solidaire." The organization is structured as a cooperative where consumers become cooperators, with two distinct member types: social cooperators, who are individuals and families experiencing financial hardship referred by social workers or self-directed, and solidarity cooperators, who are community members purchasing local seasonal produce while supporting the social mission. Operations are concentrated at a single physical storefront at 107 rue Laennec in Lyon 8th arrondissement, with services explicitly sectorized to Lyon 8th, 6th, 3rd arrondissements and Bron.

The cooperative's core offerings include weekly fruit and vegetable baskets featuring seasonal and locally sourced products (available for pickup every Wednesday via an Assoconnect online ordering platform), a bulk grocery store providing food, hygiene, and cleaning products at reduced cost, a solidarity canteen providing quality meals, and a social support service (accompagnement) delivered by a dedicated social intervenor, Elise Manteaux, who assists members with personal projects such as debt reduction. The technology footprint is minimal: a WordPress website (currently under reconstruction following a late-2024 hacking incident), the Assoconnect e-commerce checkout, and standard transit/bike accessibility information for the storefront. No proprietary technology, applications, or AI capabilities are present.

The business model is a cooperative retail and social services hybrid. Pricing is designed to be affordable for financially excluded members, with social cooperators accessing goods at reduced cost during a temporary membership period. Revenue mechanics are not disclosed, and the organization operates without disclosed venture capital, private equity, or parent company backing. Go-to-market relies on community engagement, social worker referrals across Lyon, and earned media coverage from local outlets (Lyon Demain, Le Progrès, Lyon Plus, Petit Futé, News estlyonnais). The 8-employee headcount and single-location footprint constrain scale, while the sectorized service territory functions as both a community-anchoring mechanism and a structural limit on addressable market.

Name

Epi c'est bon!

Legal name

Epi c'est bon!

Website

https://epicestbon.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Epi c'est bon! is a non-profit solidarity cooperative in Lyon, France, operating a grocery store and canteen that provides economically vulnerable individuals and families with affordable access to quality food, hygiene products, and social worker support.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Services and Food Assistance

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

SIC

Retail-Grocery Stores (5411), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Community-Owned / Nonprofit Grocery Stores (CRAHALAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Member-Owned Food Cooperatives (CRAHALAA)

Keywords

• Solidarity grocery store
• Cooperative canteen
• Food assistance
• Social support services
• Community food access

Headquarters

HQ city

Lyon

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Epi c'est bon! runs a solidarity grocery store and canteen in Lyon that provides individuals and families facing financial difficulties temporary access to quality food, hygiene, and cleaning products at reduced cost. It also offers weekly seasonal fruit and vegetable baskets and a solidarity canteen, with personalized social support delivered by a dedicated social worker to help members pursue personal projects such as debt reduction.

Product overview

Epi c'est bon! is a solidarity cooperative operating as both a grocery store and canteen in Lyon, France. The organization operates through a cooperative membership model where all consumers are cooperators. Its core offerings include weekly fruit and vegetable baskets (available every Wednesday with seasonal, local products), a bulk grocery store providing food, hygiene, and cleaning products at reduced costs, and a canteen service. The cooperative provides social support through a dedicated social worker who assists members facing financial difficulties, helping them achieve personal projects like debt reduction.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Paniers de fruits et légumes (Weekly fruit and vegetable baskets) Weekly baskets of seasonal and locally sourced fruits and vegetables available for pickup every Wednesday at the Lyon location, ordered online via the Assoconnect platform. Targeted at solidarity cooperators and community members seeking fresh local produce.
• Epicerie (Solidarity grocery store) Solidarity grocery store offering bulk food, hygiene, and cleaning products at reduced costs to members facing financial difficulties, operating from the Lyon 8th location.
• Cantine (Solidarity canteen) Solidarity canteen providing access to quality meals as part of the cooperative's food-access mission for members and community participants at the Lyon location.
• Accompagnement (Social Support Service) Social support service with a dedicated social worker who assists cooperative members in achieving personal projects such as debt reduction or essential purchases, delivered at the Lyon location and coordinated with referring social workers.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Petit FutéminorOthers · 1 April 2023Local directory and guide service that listed Epi c'est bon! in April 2023 as a bulk grocery store in Lyon 69008.
• Lyon PlusminorOthers · 10 April 2019City supplement coverage on April 10, 2019 about how Epi c'est bon! reinvents the solidarity canteen concept.
• Le ProgrèsminorOthers · 6 April 2019Regional newspaper that featured Epi c'est bon! on April 6, 2019, covering the innovative solidarity canteen concept.
• News estlyonnaisminorOthers · 27 March 2019Local news outlet that covered the inauguration of Epi c'est bon! on March 27, 2019.
• Lyon DemainminorOthers · 21 February 2019Local Lyon media outlet that published coverage about Epi c'est bon! on February 21, 2019, featuring the solidarity grocery store concept.
• Social workers network (Lyon 8th, 6th, 3rd and Bron)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial workers refer clients to Epi c'est bon!. The social intervenor Elise MANTEAUX coordinates with these professionals to provide temporary access to quality products for people facing financial difficulties. This referral network is essential to the organization's social mission.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Fédération Française des Banques Alimentaires: French food-bank network distributing food to people in need via partner associations. Comparable mission of providing dignified food access to vulnerable populations, though delivered through a different (collection/distribution) operating model.
• ANDES (Association Nationale de Développement des Épiceries Solidaires): National federation of solidarity grocery stores in France. Most direct peer: same nonprofit grocery-store model serving people in financial precariousness, organized as a federated network that Epi c'est bon! could plausibly join or align with.

Broad incumbents

• Croix-Rouge française: French Red Cross, which operates food-aid and social-hygiene programs (e.g., Vestiboutiques, epiceries sociales) for vulnerable populations. Comparable social mission and grocery-style distribution, but as part of a much larger humanitarian portfolio.
• Secours Populaire Français: Major French social-aid association running food solidarity programs alongside housing, healthcare, and education support. Comparable in mission (food insecurity relief) but with a much broader and more institutionalized national footprint.
• Biocoop: France's largest network of consumer-cooperative organic grocery stores. Comparable on the consumer-as-cooperator ownership model, but operates as a broad organic retailer rather than a solidarity-grocery with social-worker accompaniment.
• Restos du Cœur: Large, established French food-assistance charity founded by Coluche in 1985. Overlaps on free/affordable food provision and canteen services for low-income populations, but operates at national scale with a charity rather than cooperative model.

Emerging players

• Day by Day: French franchise network of bulk/no-packaging grocery stores. Comparable on the bulk-food retail format and basket-style offerings (seasonal local produce), though without the solidarity-pricing or social-support layer.
• La Cloche: Paris-based nonprofit building a solidarity network (food, housing, culture) for people experiencing homelessness and poverty. Comparable in combining retail-format touchpoints with social accompaniment, and an example of the kind of younger, networked solidarity organization Epi c'est bon! could partner with.

Regional players

• La Vie Claire: France-focused organic and bulk grocery chain with some franchised/cooperative-style store ownership. Comparable on bulk retail and local-produce positioning, but positioned as premium organic rather than solidarity-priced.

Others

• Fondation Abbé Pierre: Major French nonprofit addressing housing precariousness and poverty. Adjacent rather than directly competing: it operates complementary social-assistance programs and could be a referral/funder partner for Epi c'est bon!'s social cooperators.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/epi-c-est-bon

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Epi c'est bon!