Carrefour launched the BlackSupermarket, a campaign that defies the law to change the law.

We created BlackSupermarket installations in our stores nationally to sell our illegal range of cereals, vegetables, and fruits. We leveraged our first media, our stores, where 3 millions people shop everyday, to enable people to taste these deliciousl illegal varieties. Our call to action to change the law was simple: we asked people to buy the illegal products and sign our petition on Change.org. Print, illegal outdoor, web films and instore BlackSupermarkets revealed the absurdity of the law, and turned our illegal producers into national heroes. Against the law, we signed a 5-year supply contract with them, and invited KOLs to witness the signature.

Against powerful lobbies working behind closed doors, we chose provocation before the eyes of all, to rally the public and be heard up to Brussels where decisions are made.

The campaign prelaunched on September19th, with an « illegal dinner » inviting KOLs to discover the illegal varieties, witness the signature of the illegal 5-year supply contract with our producers, and donation of 1Million€ for farmers’ seeds preservation. We launched our petition during the event, so KOLs would be the first signatories and first to share the petition. It rallied powerful ambassadors: journalists, chefs… to fuel the conversation.

On September 20th, our BlackSupermarkets opened in our stores nationally. It was the best media to allow consumers to taste these deliciously illegal products and understand the issue, thanks to our spectacular herbariums that staged 600 forbidden varieties.

The petition was key to attract journalists’ and politicians’ attention, so all digital buys - including webs films - drove to it. To make sure politicians could not forget us, we illegally posted our prints near places of power such as the National Assembly.

The BlackSupermarket hacked the conversation on the French National Food Forum and generated a national debate. Every evening news and major newspaper covered the campaign (France 2, M6, LCI, Libération, Marianne, Les Echos, Le Parisien…). Public figures joined our fight, even the worst critics of the retail industry. The campaign generated 300M+ earned media impressions. It was impossible to ignore the issue anymore.

The Public was baffled to discover this absurd law. They bought the illegal goods en masse (our maximum of 70tons, because of scarce illegal supply) and signed our petition (+ 85000 signatures).

Finally, public mobilization changed the law. On April 19th 2018 the European Parliament ratified a new regulation on organic agriculture (Procedure 2014/0100(COD)) reauthorizing sale and cultivation of farmers’ seeds. It will apply from January 2021 (after 40years of prohibition) but it can be expected that farmers will no longer be prosecuted in the meantime.

When nobody knew or cared about the cause except a handful of militants, the BlackSupermarket rallied consumers, key-opinion-leaders and the French media; utilizing above all Carrefour’s first media, its own stores, as well as digital, social, and petition platform change.org; to change an unfair law.

The biggest threat to biodiversity is ignorance. If nobody knows, nobody cares, and lobbies can continue to pass laws in the shadows. After 40 years of prohibition, dozens of draft laws to reauthorize farmers’ seeds had already been rejected, in the indifference of the media. We knew we needed a plebiscite to bend the political agenda.

Our approche was to go outside the law publicly to expose the injustice, and rally consumers, KOLs and the media behind our cause. Our media strategy was to use our first media - our stores, with 3 million shoppers daily - to both create a national debate and maximise the exposition of our campaign among our clients; while coordinated media buys on social and digital drove to our change.org petition. To get maximum awareness, we opened our BlackSupermarkets during the French National Food Forum, a major government summit reuniting politicians and the food industry.

People have access to only 3% of existing cereals, vegetables, and fruits in Europe. The other 97% (two million « Farmers’ varieties ») are illegal, because producers can only sell what is registered in the OfficialCatalogue of AuthorizedSpecies, defined by the agrochemical lobby. As a result, 90% of farmable varieties have already disappeared worldwide since the 20th century (source: FAO), farmers depend on hybrids or get sued, and consumers are deprived from a wide range of superior produces, richer in nutrients, taste, and better for the environment.

Brief: At the time of the General Assembly on Food, use the leadership power of Carrefour - in line with its mission for better food - to focus the debate on farmers' seeds and mobilize consumers to influence the political agenda.

Objective: Change European laws to reauthorize farmers’ seeds in order to improve food quality for consumers and preserve biodiversity for future generations.