Groupement des Epiceries Sociales et Solidaires d'Auvergne Rhône-Alpes (GESRA)

What Groupement des Epiceries Sociales et Solidaires d'Auvergne Rhône-Alpes (GESRA) does

GESRA (Groupement des Épiceries Sociales et Solidaires d'Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) is a French non-profit association (loi 1901) founded in 2016 and headquartered in Vénissieux, in the Lyon metropolitan area. It functions as the regional head network coordinating a membership of independent social and solidarity grocery stores (épiceries sociales et solidaires) across six departments of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region: Ain, Allier, Drôme, Isère, Loire, and Rhône. Its services to member épiceries are organised around four missions — representing the network to regional and national authorities, supporting the creation and development of new épiceries, animating and training the member network (staff and volunteers), and centralising procurement of quality products at competitive prices. Member épiceries in turn provide dignified, low-cost access to food for people in precarious financial situations, in line with the national charter of social and solidarity épiceries.

The organization's revenue model is a hybrid of three streams: recurring membership contributions from member épiceries accessing collective services; public funding and subsidies from regional bodies including DRAAF Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and the Métropole de Lyon; and corporate philanthropy and patronage (AG2R La Mondiale, Fondation de France) covering financial support, in-kind food/hygiene/cleaning products, skills donations (logistics, communication, legal), and IT equipment. GESRA holds no proprietary software product; its digital footprint consists of an institutional website (gesra.org), a private member intranet ('Nuage'), and social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn). Additional activities include educational content production — notably the 'Bio'Vrac' cookbook and the 'Salade Tomate Oignon' interactive exhibition on sustainable food (co-developed with CRIJ Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bellebouffe) — and a health-promotion programme run by a dedicated project officer.

GESRA is governed by a board of directors under a Projet Associatif formally adopted on 29 September 2016, with no parent organisation or controlling entity. Staffing is lean at seven personnel covering coordination, development/procurement, network animation, administration, health promotion, warehouse/delivery, and information-systems project management. Operating geographies are confined to the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France; the organization does not sell products or services to end consumers and serves exclusively as a B2B/network intermediary between public/corporate funders and member épiceries.

Name

Groupement des Epiceries Sociales et Solidaires d'Auvergne Rhône-Alpes (GESRA)

Legal name

Groupement des Épiceries Sociales et Solidaires en Rhône-Alpes Auvergne (GESRA)

Website

https://gesra.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

GESRA is the regional head network coordinating social and solidarity grocery stores across six departments of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. Founded in 2016 and based in Vénissieux, it provides representation, training, member animation, and centralized procurement services to member épiceries serving people in financial precarity.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social and Solidarity Grocery Network Services

NAICS

Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (81399), Community Food Services (624210)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Nutrition & Food Security (Global Health) NGOs (HLAJAKAH)

Keywords

• Social grocery network
• Food aid coordination
• Solidarity economy
• Collective procurement services
• Nonprofit association services

Headquarters

HQ city

Vénissieux

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership contributions: Member épiceries contribute to the network to access collective services including training, procurement, and representation.
2. Corporate partnerships and patronage: GESRA receives support from corporate partners including products (food, hygiene, cleaning), skills donations (logistics, communication, legal), financial support, transport services, and IT equipment. As a loi 1901 association, donations may qualify for tax credits under article 238 bis of the French General Tax Code.
3. Public funding and subsidies: GESRA receives support from public partners including DRAAF, regional council, and other governmental bodies for network coordination and food aid programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

GESRA is a nonprofit regional network association that coordinates, represents, and supports social and solidarity grocery stores (épiceries sociales et solidaires) across the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. Its core offerings include regional and national representation of member épiceries, support for creating and developing new épiceries, professional training and network animation for staff and volunteers, and collective procurement supplying quality products at competitive prices to member stores. GESRA also produces educational resources such as the BIO'VRAC cookbook and the Salade Tomate Oignon interactive exhibition to promote healthy and sustainable food among people in precarious situations.

Product overview

GESRA is a regional network association representing and supporting social and solidarity grocery stores (épiceries sociales et solidaires) across the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. It functions as a coordinating and support body rather than a software product company, offering services such as network representation, startup support for new épiceries, training and animation of the member network, and collective product sourcing. It also produces educational resources (a cookbook, an interactive exhibition called 'Salade Tomate Oignon') aimed at promoting healthy and sustainable food among people in precarity. GESRA does not offer a unified software platform or branded digital product; its public-facing digital presence consists of a institutional website and a private member intranet (Nuage).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Network Representation Services
• Épicerie Incubation and Development Support
• Professional Training and Network Animation
• Collective Procurement and Supply Services
• BIO'VRAC Cookbook Published cookbook containing 112 recipes promoting healthy and sustainable eating on a budget, produced by GESRA as an educational resource for beneficiaries and the broader public interested in dignified, healthy food preparation.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and supportive.

• DRAAF Auvergne-Rhône-AlpescoreOthersDirection Régionale de l'Alimentation, de l'Agriculture et de la Forêt - Regional agricultural authority supporting food and agricultural policies in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
• Région Auvergne-Rhône-AlpescoreOthersThe regional council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, providing institutional support and funding for regional development initiatives including food aid programs.
• Métropole de LyoncoreOthersThe Metropolis of Lyon, supporting regional solidarity and social action programs in the Greater Lyon area.
• AG2R La MondialesupportiveOthersMajor French social protection group providing patronage and corporate social responsibility support to GESRA's mission.
• Fondation de FrancesupportiveOthersMajor French philanthropic foundation providing funding and support for charitable causes including food aid and social solidarity.
• CRIJ Auvergne-Rhône-AlpescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCentre Régional Information Jeunesse - Regional youth information center. Partner in the 'Salade Tomate Oignon' (SATO) interactive exhibition project on sustainable food, along with GESRA and Bellebouffe.
• BellebouffecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the 'Salade Tomate Oignon' (SATO) interactive exhibition on sustainable food education. Created the exhibition content and illustrations.
• Cluster Bio AURAsupportiveOthersRegional organic agriculture cluster in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, supporting organic and sustainable food systems in the region.
• Le Mouvement Associatif AURAsupportiveOthersRegional branch of the French associative movement, providing support and representation for associations in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Secours Populaire Français: Major French solidarity association providing food aid, housing support, and broader social services. Comparable as a large, federated nonprofit addressing food insecurity, with a regional departmental structure similar to GESRA's regional scope.
• Emmaüs France: National federation of the Emmaüs solidarity movement, focused on social inclusion through employment, housing, and material aid. Operates in the same social and solidarity economy space as GESRA and shares the federated, regionally-anchored nonprofit structure.
• Fédération Française des Banques Alimentaires: National federation of food banks in France. Addresses food insecurity through a more logistics-heavy, donation-driven model rather than a purchase-based social grocery model, but operates in the same anti-poverty food space and shares the regional-network structure.
• Restos du Cœur: One of France's largest food aid charities, distributing free food to those in need. Operates in the same food-insecurity space as GESRA's member épiceries but uses a charity-based model rather than the purchase-based, dignity-preserving épicerie solidaire model that GESRA represents.
• Croix-Rouge Française: French Red Cross, a major humanitarian organization running food aid, health, and social programs. Operates épiceries sociales in some regions and competes for the same public funding and corporate patronage streams as GESRA.

Others

• Fondation de France: Major French philanthropic foundation supporting charitable initiatives including food aid and social solidarity. A patron of GESRA, making it both a funder and a peer in the broader French food-insecurity and social-solidarity ecosystem.
• France Active: National network of territorial associations financing and supporting social economy structures (associations, cooperatives, social enterprises). Comparable as an ecosystem enabler for the social and solidarity economy, providing financing and capacity-building support to organizations like GESRA's member épiceries.
• Le Mouvement Associatif: National umbrella organization representing associations in France. GESRA is a member of the regional branch (Le Mouvement Associatif AURA), and is comparable as a peer network organization — though broader in scope, providing a model for how GESRA could federate or be represented at the national level.

Emerging players

• Réseau Cocagne: National network of 'Jardins de Cocagne' social insertion farms that produce organic vegetables and distribute them to vulnerable populations. Comparable to GESRA in combining dignified food access with social inclusion, with a complementary production-based rather than retail-based model.

Direct peers

• ANDES (Association Nationale de Développement des Épiceries Solidaires): National network of solidarity grocery stores in France. ANDES is the closest direct peer to GESRA, coordinating épiceries sociales at the national level with a similar mutualization, training, and representation mission — GESRA is effectively a regional head network within the broader national ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/groupement-des-epiceries-sociales-et-solidaires-d-auvergne-rh%C3%B4ne-alpes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Groupement des Epiceries Sociales et Solidaires d'Auvergne Rhône-Alpes (GESRA)