New Brussels store boosts local economy and food awareness

Being so successful your shop sells out on the opening day: It’s what every entrepreneur dreams of. You could even suspect it’s a marketing stunt to attract more customers.

But the team behind BelgoMarkt, a new food shop in the Matongé neighbourhood of Brussels offering only products made in Belgium, could really only guess how much stock they would need. After refilling the shelves of their store when everything sold on opening day last week, they just urged their producers to deliver the next supply a bit earlier.

BelgoMarkt (pictured) is the brainchild of three young Belgians – Stéphanie Deblo, Mélanie Mikiels and Tresor Stevens – with one common goal: to transform the global economy with its long and opaque food chain into a more local, transparent and human one. They want the food on your plate to be traceable.

“You have to take into account that the founders don’t have a background in retail and are learning every day,” says Alexandre Hervens, one of some 25 co-operatives supporting the shop. He says the contact between food producers and their customers is fundamental.

This becomes obvious in the store itself, where all products are accompanied by the name of the company and a picture of the local farmer or manufacturer. “What’s more, the suppliers use the same entrance as the clients, encouraging mutual feedback,” Hervens says.

Home pride

Aside from a focus on organic – as 60% of the food here is – there is an ample choice of bulk goods. Big cardboard barrels, hessian sacks, glass bowls and tap bottles are filled with flour, nuts, pasta, coffee, oil and even laundry detergent. This way BelgoMarkt tackles two main concerns: food waste and packaging.

“It’s another step away from what the big chains do: Customers just take what they need here,” says Hervens, adding that they will also organise workshops to raise awareness.

The good news for customers is that by keeping the food chain short, with a maximum of one intermediary, BelgoMarkt can keep prices down. So, among the more exotic local vegetables, such as chard and kohlrabi, you can buy cheap potatoes and lettuce.

The shelves are filled with fresh products daily, allowing you to reduce your ecological footprint, and there’s enough to enjoy the Burgundian lifestyle: a wide selection of cheese and sausages from across the country, Hageland wine, organic Gageleer beer from Turnhout and Ordal lemonade from Ranst.

Rue de Dublin 19, Brussels