Le Fourgon’s Big Bet: Reinventing The Milkman To Crush Single-Use Plastics

Three and a half years ago, seasoned entrepreneur Charles Christory joined forces with Stéphane Dessein and Maxime Tharin to tackle one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time: waste. After successfully selling his digital marketing startup Adictiz to Webedia, Christory felt a personal responsibility to act for the planet. 

His solution? Bringing back a forgotten yet powerful concept—the deposit system (la consigne) for groceries. Enter Le Fourgon, a delivery service offering groceries in reusable glass containers designed to be cleaned and reused dozens of times. The company is reinventing the traditional milkman model for the 21st century, thereby tackling the massive issue of single-use packaging waste.

Le Fourgon’s mission has an old-world feel about it with a modern twist. 

Christory points out that France consumes 36 million single-use plastic bottles every day. The stakes for change are massive.

“Unlike plastic, glass doesn’t degrade with each cycle," he said. "After 10 years, you only lose about 2% of the material. Whereas when you recycle plastic, you lose a lot of primary matter and have to complete each batch of recycled product with one-third new product.”

A Scaling Circular Vision

Customers place orders for beverages, pantry items, or household products via the app or website. When a new order is placed, the company’s drivers — all on permanent contracts — collect the empty containers from previous orders. These are then transported to local cleaning partners for thorough washing and sanitization, before being taken back to the different product producers for refilling. Each glass container can be reused up to 40 times.

To make the model work at scale, Le Fourgon has established partnerships with over 400 product producers, offering more than 2,000 products ranging from local craft beverages to soft drinks, pantry staples, and household essentials like dishwashing gel – all in glass reusable packaging. 

Le Fourgon is now present in 18 logistics hubs across France, supported by a workforce of 330 employees. 

Their business model already delivers tangible environmental benefits: In January alone, Le Fourgon saved 1.35 million single-use plastic bottles from entering the waste stream. Overall, the company estimates that it has already helped avoid over 10 million single-use bottles and containers, proving that convenient and responsible consumption can go hand in hand.

A Funding Journey to Sustainability

Le Fourgon recently extended its Series A round, raising €8.5 million with new and existing investors and bolstered by crowdfunding.

“We initially aimed to raise €15 million in 2023, but when the VC landscape shifted, we decided to split the round into two phases,” explained Christory.

This round saw one-third of the funding come from existing investors, another third from new backers, and the final third from equity crowdfunding through impact platform Lita.co. Crowdfunding proved to be a strategic move for Le Fourgon as more than 65,000 customers who already use the service participated in the funding.

“It reinforced our brand power and aligned perfectly with our impact-driven ethos,” said Christory.

The money is crucial because Le Fourgon faces a significant challenge: scaling a very cash-intensive business model. Beyond hiring, the major expenses come from fixed costs like infrastructure—leasing warehouses, vehicles, and building distribution networks.

Despite these challenges, the operational side of the business is already profitable. “We’re still about 18 months away from overall profitability,” Christory said, but the trend is positive.

The startup is also actively building its B2B business, targeting partnerships with supermarkets, cafes, and restaurants. As France tightens regulations on single-use plastics, Le Fourgon’s reusable packaging solutions are becoming more attractive to major retailers looking to comply with environmental mandates.

Shifting Consumer Habits with Competitive Pricing

While the company faces misconceptions that sustainable options are prohibitively expensive, Le Fourgon maintains competitive pricing. “On a €60 grocery basket, we’re just about €1 more expensive,” noted Christory. In some cases, like beer, they’re even cheaper than big-box supermarkets.

Beyond pricing, the key to consumer adoption lies in local sourcing, he said. Le Fourgon works with renowned French producers such as Jardins de l’Orbrie for juices, Moulins d’Ascq for craft beer, and Michel & Augustin for biscuits. The startup aims to continue expanding its product offerings to meet evolving customer needs.

Building an Ecosystem, Not Just a Business

With a goal to further embed the reusable packaging model in French consumer culture, Christory is clear: “We don’t aim to control the entire market. We hope to be an enabler—a ‘Le Fourgon Inside’ model where supermarkets can also carry our reusable products.”

The company’s expansion plans focus on optimizing existing operations and geographic zones rather than opening entirely new sites. Upcoming hubs include Tours and Colmar. 

In the coming months, they will also begin preparing for a Series B round to continue growth.

Ultimately, Christory sees Le Fourgon not just as a business but as part of a broader movement reshaping how people consume.

“We shouldn’t exist,” he said. “But here we are, changing consumption models and proving it can work.”