Greek courts approve bread distribution through supermarkets

Eurofood, Feb 3, 2000

The distribution of fresh bread and bakery products through Greek supermarket chains is expected to expand soon following a recent decision of the Athens Market Court. The court ruled on a case filed by the Greek Bakers Federation against the baking and marketing of bread in specialised points of sale in a major Greek supermarket chain. The Federation claimed that these operations violated Greek legislation on fresh bakery products, which appear to require special permits for the sale of bread made from frozen dough (bake-off system).

In theory, bread distribution is already fully liberalised, but the lack of clarity of current legislation has resulted in problems such as the above case. Greek supermarkets welcomed the Court's decision, saying it paves the way for the proper liberalisation of bread distribution by taking into account not just Greek law but also national legislation of other EU Member States which give special exemptions to bake-off systems. The untapped market potential is huge as under 5% of total Greek bread consumption is currently produced through these systems, while the respective market share in Germany, for example, is around 35%.