With or without labels: The bakery as a label of renewal

Organic, Label Rouge, CRC… Since the early 2000s, quality labels have multiplied throughout the wheat-flour-bread sector, as they have across other consumer goods. Yet many of these tools, initially designed to rebuild consumer trust, are now struggling. Between climate-related incidents, lack of public awareness, and economic pressures among processors, these labels are no longer enjoying their golden days.

What if, for the artisan baker, the best label was simply their name and the relationship they build with their customers? This question arises within a sector shaken by competition and inflation, pushing professionals to re-evaluate their sourcing choices. Labels were meant to offer differentiation and signal a commitment to responsible practices… but they are struggling to win over consumers, while their proliferation has made them harder to understand.
Organic farming was the first to experience a decline in consumption volumes, largely due to inflation-related trade-offs and a loss of trust among part of the public. Since 2021, the production of organic-certified flour has dropped from 155,000 to 139,000 tonnes last year.
Meanwhile, Label Rouge has defied the trend, continuing to grow and reaching an unprecedented 267,000 tonnes of milled flour in 2024, compared to 185,000 four years earlier. Both labels benefit from a strong historical presence, which grants them a level of recognition attractive to processors. In 2020, a study conducted by Quantitude for LSA showed that Label Rouge had an aided awareness rate of 92%, compared to 53% for Organic. But beyond being recognized, quality indicators need to inspire strong consumer trust to influence purchasing behavior in a lasting way. The same study revealed that Label Rouge remained a standout, earning 74% trust, far ahead of Organic at 62%.
It is on this trust that Club le Boulanger aimed to capitalize when it launched the Bagatelle in 2002 — the only Tradition Française baguette on the market certified with the Label Rouge. Today, 180 artisan bakers are authorized to produce the product.

Sustainable farming amid climate strain and development ambitions

The strength of labels like Label Rouge or Organic also lies in their deployment across thousands of food products, not just those related to bread or cereals. The CRC® sector — for Controlled Responsible Cultivation — was created in 2000 and has from the start chosen to remain focused on this scope, with practices that support biodiversity and strictly limit the use of pesticides. This strategy has proven successful: production volumes steadily increased up until 2023, reaching 620,000 tonnes of harvested wheat and 504,000 tonnes of flour produced. "Thanks to strong guarantees of both practices and results in food safety and cereal quality, the CRC® sector has been highly attractive in recent years, and many members have joined us," says Marc Bonnet, General Director of the CRC® sector, which now represents 10% of French wheat volumes intended for human consumption. However, the 2024 season proved particularly difficult, with excessive rainfall severely affecting crops and drastically reducing harvest volumes. The Ange bakery network, a long-time supporter of the approach since its founding, was forced to switch to conventional wheat in the absence of raw materials to meet its needs. “The volumes of CRC® wheat harvested were ultimately not enough to cover the year’s projected needs, and we are therefore temporarily switching to an equivalent-quality French conventional wheat flour, which is not certified, until the new harvest this summer,” the chain announced in its retail locations in spring 2025. That new harvest has now just been gathered, bringing renewed calm to the sector. “The new campaign should yield around 500,000 tonnes of CRC® wheat across 90,000 hectares of cultivated land. That will allow us to supply the entire market,” says Marc Bonnet. In addition to weather-related challenges, the sector must also deal with wavering loyalty among its partners. Recently, retailer Auchan announced the end of its partnership with CRC®, in place since 2018, without offering further explanation for the strategic shift. In total, nearly 3% of CRC® volumes — around 15,000 tonnes per year — are affected. “Retailers have been hit by a general rise in costs and have absorbed much of the impact during this period. That’s pushing them to make tough choices,” notes the director. The challenge now is to consolidate what’s been built while opening up to new partnerships to gain visibility. “After the initial shock of not being able to supply all our partners, we need to rebuild stronger ties with our members and refocus on our core values, so we can move forward again.” In short, the CRC® sector must find a way to grow while remaining true to its values — in order to earn lasting public recognition, which remains limited due to the brand’s relatively recent emergence.

Putting price and fair pay on the table to drive lasting change: The Agri-Ethique gamble

Labels focused on agricultural issues show real complementarity with initiatives that address economic aspects. This is the case for Agri-Ethique France, which in 2024 reported a 75% increase in revenue across all sectors now covered by the label. Developed in 2013 by the Cavac cooperative, the initiative promotes “fair trade for the Global North” and multi-year contracts of at least three years. It was initially rolled out in the wheat-flour-bread sector before gradually expanding to 56 other areas, including vegetables, dairy, meat, and eggs. The organization has established itself as a trusted third party and a genuine safe haven — while also proving its ability to adapt, particularly following the 2023 crisis marked by a surge in wheat prices. Could its success be attributed as much to diversification, which naturally boosts recognition, as to its positioning around economic concerns — a central issue for players across the entire value chain? “At Agri-Ethique, we don’t just talk about responsible consumption — we talk about financial stability and long-term vision. Our contracts secure income, structure supply chains, and enable both farmers and brands to plan for the future,” explains Ludovic Brindejonc, Director of Agri-Ethique. This sense of stability is all the more valuable in a context of increasingly volatile global commodity prices, which carry the real risk of forcing farmers to sell at unsustainably low prices. Still, the challenge remains to gain broader adoption in the bakery sector. Aside from a few millers, industrial players, and bakery networks (such as Minoterie Girardeau, La Boulangère, Ange, and L’Atelier Papilles), only around 500 independent bakers have joined the initiative. “We're on track to reach one billion euros in revenue — proof that a fair, transparent, and committed model can become the norm. We firmly believe that a sustainable sector starts with a clear and equitable framework. Agri-Ethique has become a systemic response to the challenges of value creation, production, and consumption,” says Ludovic Brindejonc.

Alongside these broader movements, a new generation of artisan bakers is emerging, placing particular emphasis on the quality of their ingredients — without promoting any specific label in their shops. This approach stems from a desire for independence and full control over their image, something that becomes impossible when sharing a brand with other players. In Lyon, Antoinette — a bakery with four locations — primarily uses flour from organic farming, yet this is not used as a marketing argument. It’s a different way of honoring the values behind labels and demonstrating a commitment to sustainable baking — and it presents a new challenge for responsible supply chains, which must now learn to thrive… without a label.