Meeting in Lyon on September 8, the players in the organic sectors and the organizers of Natexpo presented their priorities and unveiled the first directions of the show three weeks before its opening, on September 28 and 29 at Eurexpo Lyon.
Lyon, a welcoming city and stronghold of organic farming
Sophia Popoff, Deputy Mayor of Lyon, reiterated the City's commitments to institutional catering, particularly the efforts undertaken in school cafeterias where 65% of the food is organic. She emphasized that the gastronomic capital also hosts a significant portion of the French organic food industry, starting with La Vie Claire and Ecotone, whose headquarters are located in the metropolitan area, as well as Markal and Autour du Riz, which have operations in the department.
An industry that speaks with one voice as 2027 approaches
Indeed, Christelle Le Hir and Christophe Barnouin, co-presidents of the Maison de la Bio (House of Organic Farming) and respectively chairwoman of the board of La Vie Claire and CEO of Ecotone, detailed the ambitions of the organic sector as part of its advocacy for the 2027 presidential election. In particular, regarding the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP): organic farming currently covers nearly 10% of France's usable agricultural land but receives only 3% of subsidies. They are calling for these subsidies to be allocated in proportion to the land area under organic production, meaning an alignment with the 10% target. Following a record-breaking summer heatwave, they called for increased support for producers, a prerequisite for maintaining production volumes and the country's food sovereignty.
The two co-chairmen took this opportunity to unveil the unprecedented results of the study conducted by Retail and Detail for La Maison de la BioThis study aims to bring objectivity to the debate on the price of organic products. A selection of ten everyday items (apple juice, ground Arabica coffee, fresh ground beef, a 70% dark chocolate bar, semi-skimmed milk, plain yogurt, unsalted butter, wheat flour, tomato and basil sauce, and olive oil) shows that a basket purchased from a specialized organic store costs €3 less than its equivalent in non-organic national brands from supermarkets. For fruits and vegetables, a basket of five staples (one kilo of potatoes, one kilo of bananas, one kilo of oranges, one kilo of apples, and a head of lettuce) costs €12 organic compared to €10 non-organic, a difference of €2 per week.
[1] The study will be fully presented at the trade fair.
Natexpo, the place where these questions are addressed
Valérie Lemant-Peretz, CEO of SPAS Organisation, reiterated that these challenges shape the program for the 2026 edition. The trade show has registered 15% more exhibitors than its previous Lyon edition, including 25% newcomers, and 40% of exhibitors declared a new offering during registration. This edition is held under the patronage of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Sovereignty.
Among the announced highlights and new features:
- Forum La Maison de la Bio, at the entrance to the show, with the conference "Presidential Elections 2027: BIO objective", the exclusive presentation of the Panier Bio study, the barometer of the morale of processors of the Agence BIO and an intervention by BASIC on the formation of food prices;
- Natexpo 2026 Trophies: eight winners distinguished by a jury of specialist distribution and the professional press, awards ceremony on Tuesday, September 29 at 12pm;
- Hub Fruits & Vegetables, hosted by Chloé Roberge (F&L Consult), dedicated to the flagship department of organic stores;
- Speed-meetings for the food service industry, in partnership with Restau'Co and the Agence BIO, to accelerate the introduction of organic products into institutional and commercial catering;
- Village of Specialized Distributors, under the aegis of Synadis Bio, and third edition of the Corner Stores for independent retailers;
- Bio-Trends Forum, organised by Bio Linéaires, on bioflation, organic in Europe, artificial intelligence and the exploitation of customer data.
Natexpo 2026: September 28 and 29, 2026, Eurexpo Lyon
