Charles Martinelli has a lot of ideas. At 3 years old, the Ile-de-France resident, “fascinated by my neighbor who had a farm and a tractor” discover “the magic of agriculture”. At 12, he had a chicken coop; As a teenager, he cultivated a vegetable garden before pursuing agricultural studies and then commerce-marketing. At 33, he is at the head of a store Market Road which aims to be the point of convergence between consumers concerned regarding eating well and supporting local agriculture and passionate producers.
Three hundred products referenced
Inaugurated Thursday evening in Grasse, it offers no less than three hundred references of fresh products – fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, yogurts, etc. – and artisanal products.
Above all, it is the logical continuation of the company he co-founded in Nice in May 2021 with Julien Touyet and of the marketplace – quickly transformed into an e-commerce site – Route du Marché launched last spring.
The idea that has already attracted a hundred customers? Promote the local, even ultra-local, economy, because the thirty farmer-breeders from sustainable agriculture – “at a minimum” – and handpicked by Charles Martinelli are all located within a 100km radius of Grasse, “in the Alpes-Maritimes, the Var and the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence”.
Producers located
within a radius of 100km.
Route du Marché also aims to be a “turnkey solution to save them time and money”continues its president.
The operation is very simple. After placing an order on the site which dedicates a page to each producer, the customer chooses how to collect it: either by Chronofresh delivery, or by click & collect in the hundred self-service refrigerated lockers, available 24 hours a day in the Grasse store . Route du Marché takes a commission of 23% on each sale.
Development of phygital
The inauguration of the point of sale is only the beginning of a new phygital adventure for the two partners who plan to open “a network of twenty own-name stores in the Alpes-Maritimes and Var by 2026”or even, later, to develop the concept into a franchise “but always with this 100km charter”, confides Charles Martinelli who hired a work-study student to improve the customer journey on the website. Which will, from next year, promote the tourist activities of producers: “inn, picking, milking goats…”he lists.
Before that, Route du Marché, which won the Graines de Boss 06 competition at the beginning of the summer, will address a new segment from October 2: that of businesses in Sophia Antipolis. “We have selected around fifty – or 2,000 employees – to whom we will offer without subscription or commitment our catalog of 300 local products – 500 by the end of the year. Fresh fish, meat, fruit, vegetables, beers, foie gras , sweets…, there are no baskets this complete”, insists Charles Martinelli who also promises free delivery to the workplace. The young entrepreneur also plans to install click & collect refrigerated lockers in the large works councils of the technology park as well as hospitals.
“Employees will be able to place an order until midnight and collect it the next day without worrying regarding a break in the cold chain.”
To carry out all these projects, the two managers plan to hire three employees next year and raise €500k. Barely four months following the launch of their site, they are counting on a 2023 turnover of €150k which should increase to €500k next year and €1.4M in 2025. Route du Marché is on the right track.
> routedumarche.com/
