Zero waste in doubt

Packaging is their sworn enemy: Consumers who have adopted jars and other reusable containers for their shopping. And who are sometimes prepared to pay more for plastic-free products. A zero waste movement that had its followers. Camille Fraccaro was one of them. The 32-year-old from the Thionville region had her destiny all mapped out for her: "I always was a good student, joined preparatory class, business school, after my studies I joined a graduate programme where I joined Renault for a permanent contract in Toulouse." At the same time, she became interested in the environment and began to think about waste management.

That's when she discovered zero waste grocery shops and became passionate about the concept: "I loved the values that zero waste conveys, the way it promotes local producers and so on. Little by little, it became a personal commitment, and I became less in tune with the company I was working for." The idea of setting up her own zero waste grocery shop began to take shape. But the young woman couldn't face setting up a business at the same time as a full-time permanent job. A stroke of fate gave her a little boost: "Two weeks later, I had my foot in plaster cast! That gave me time to work out my business plan" She quickly gave up her job in Toulouse to be made redundant and receive unemployment benefit. The market in Toulouse was already saturated, so she decided to move closer to her native region and set her sights on Thionville. She took advantage of three free appointments with an accountant to help her structure her business plan. The accountant at the time was cautious, to say the least, but Camille Fraccaro was not intimidated: "At the third meeting, the accountant said that we had a 75% chance of failing, and that put me off, but only for five minutes. I preferred to focus on the 25% chance of success."