The Retail Influencer · 2026-07-01 · 7 min
Key moments - from our scoring
Substance score
17 / 100
Five dimensions, 20 points each
Chicory Leroux, a 160-year-old French family business, is repositioning chicory as a standalone beverage category rather than a coffee substitute, capitalizing on growing consumer demand for natural products, authenticity, and local sourcing. Communications Manager Elise Bastien discusses the company's three-pillar strategy - education, innovation, and communication - designed to reinvigorate the category across Europe. Key initiatives include introducing chicory capsules compatible with Nespresso machines, rebranding the Pasha line to Chicorée Leroux in Belgium for unified international marketing, and modernizing visual identity while preserving heritage. Retailers stocking hot beverages will benefit from understanding this repositioning, as the unified branding supports stronger in-store activation, media campaigns, and digital engagement. The transition signals growing interest in chicory as a wellness-focused alternative alongside coffee, tea, and hot chocolate.
The unified branding allows the company to support the category with stronger media campaigns, consistent digital communication, and increased in-store visibility across markets, mirroring a successful approach already implemented in France.
Education (explaining product origins and health benefits), innovation (creating new consumption formats like Nespresso-compatible capsules), and communication (marketing campaigns and social media activation to reposition chicory as its own beverage category).
Rather than positioning it as a coffee replacement, the company wants chicory recognized as a standalone beverage category alongside coffee, tea, and hot chocolate, appealing to consumers seeking products with distinct taste and purpose.
Rising demand for natural products, authentic brands, local sourcing, healthier choices, and lower-caffeine alternatives - all attributes that chicory, sourced exclusively from northern France, naturally possesses.
Chicory capsules compatible with Nespresso machines, combining convenience with the traditional qualities of the product to fit modern consumption lifestyles.
Our reviewer’s read on each dimension, with quotes from the episode.
The episode is a host-narrated recap of a separate French-language interview, offering almost no novel or non-obvious claims. The content amounts to PR talking points and generic consumer-trend observations, with the only mildly concrete detail being the Nespresso capsule format.
to achieve this transformation, Leroux has actually built a strategy around three major pillars, education, innovation, and communication
today shoppers are actually increasingly looking for natural products authentic brands local sourcing, healthier choices, alternatives with less caffeine
Every claim maps directly to standard brand-strategy and consumer-trend playbooks - authenticity, wellness, local sourcing, heritage repositioning. There is no contrarian argument, no first-principles reasoning, and no perspective a B2B operator would not have encountered dozens of times elsewhere.
younger generations are also rediscovering products with a genuine story, a strong origin and authentic craftsmanship
rather than positioning it as a replacement for coffee, Leroux wants consumers to see chicory as a beverage category in its own right
The guest, Elise Bastien, is a Communications Manager - a mid-level PR function - and even she is not present; the host is simply summarising a separate French-language conversation, making the caliber effectively second-hand and filtered through a non-practitioner lens.
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Elise Bastien, who is Communications Manager at Chicory Leroux
if you would like to discover of course the full story and hear directly from elise bastien well i invite you to listen to our complete conversation on the French stream of the retail influencer
The episode offers only a handful of concrete facts - a founding year, one product innovation (Nespresso capsule), and a named brand transition (Pasha to Chicorée Leroux). There are zero market-size figures, growth metrics, sell-through data, or named retail partners, and the sole success claim is entirely unsubstantiated.
Chicory Leroux is actually not a newcomer. They were founded in 1858
One recent example is the introduction of chicory capsules compatible with Nespresso machines
This episode is a solo host monologue recapping a conversation the listener never hears; there are no questions, no follow-ups, no pushback, and no actual dialogue to evaluate. The host explicitly redirects listeners elsewhere for the real content, making this a promotional trailer rather than a substantive interview.
let me just give you a few of the highlights of the discussion that I had with Elise on this episode right now
for the rest that's it for me today hope you enjoyed this little capsule about chicory and this little chat that I had with Elise Bastien
Computed from the transcript - who did the talking, and the words that came up most.
In this episode of The Retail Influencer , I share with you my chat with Elise Bastien, Communications Manager at Chicory Leroux. Together, we discussed the replacement of the Pacha brand in Belgium, the company's strategy to revitalize the chicory category, and how evolving consumer trends are creating new opportunities for this historic product. A conversation about innovation, rebranding, and the future of chicory.
Transcribed and scored by The B2B Podcast Index.
Hello and welcome for a new episode of the Retail Influencer by Twinsen Retail. I am Vincent Panels and Van Dac, we are going to chat about Chicory. Yes, Chicory. Could Chicory be one of the next big growth categories in hot beverages?
Well, that is certainly the ambition of Chicory Leroux. And I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Elise Bastien, who is Communications Manager at Chicory Leroux, a French company specialized in the product. So this was, of course, on the French stream of the retail influencer. But let me just give you a few of the highlights of the discussion that I had with Elise on this episode right now.
We discussed the company strategy, the vision that they have for the future, and why Chicory Leroux believes that Chicory deserves a much bigger place in today's beverage market. Chicory Leroux is actually not a newcomer. They were founded in 1858, and the family-owned company has dedicated more than 160 years to one single product, chicory. So they are experts in it.
While many food companies have actually diversified over the years, Leroux has remained entirely focused on this unique ingredient. Throughout its history, the company has introduced numerous innovations, from liquid chicory to soluble chicory to collectible marketing cards and pioneering commercial sales networks even. According to Elise Bastien, actually chicory is much more than just another product in the portfolio. It is the company's identity, its expertise and its heritage.
It's really the DNA of the company. And for many consumers, chicory today actually still carries the image of a drink enjoyed by previous generation, often seen as a substitute for coffee But the consumer expectations are actually changing rapidly and still can change rapidly And today shoppers are actually increasingly looking for natural products authentic brands local sourcing, healthier choices, alternatives with less caffeine. And these trends create an ideal environment for chicory to return to the spotlight, according to Elise Bastien.
As Elise explained, younger generations are also rediscovering products with a genuine story, a strong origin and authentic craftsmanship. Chicory naturally ticks all of those boxes actually. Produced exclusively in northern France, La Rousse Chicory also benefits from full traceability and a clear local identity. One of the company's biggest challenge will actually be changing how consumers think about chicory.
So rather than positioning it as a replacement for coffee, Leroux wants consumers to see chicory as a beverage category in its own right, alongside coffee, alongside tea or hot chocolate. The company believes that today's consumers are not attracted by the idea of replacing something that they already enjoy with something else. Instead, they are looking for products with their own personal taste, with their own personality, with good taste and a purpose. So to achieve this transformation, Leroux has actually built a strategy around three major pillars, education, innovation, and communication.
So let's talk about education. Many consumers recognize actually the name chicory, but don't really know what it is, how it is produced, or the different ways it can be enjoyed. The company is therefore investing heavily in explaining the product's origins, health benefits versatility and various consumption occasions The second pillar is actually innovation as mentioned and rather than changing the product itself Leroux creates a new way to enjoy chicory that fit today lifestyle.
One recent example is the introduction of chicory capsules compatible with Nespresso machines. So it combines convenience with the traditional qualities of the product. The third pillar is communication, and Leroux wants to put chicory back into the public conversation through marketing campaigns, digital communication, social media, and strong in-store activation. One of the biggest changes will take place in Belgium.
So on your shelves, you're going to see that the well-known Pasha brand will gradually disappear and be replaced by the Chicorée Leroux name. That sounds like a big change, but everything has been prepared and Elise actually explained the entire thinking and the entire thought process behind this. The unified approach will actually allow the company to support the category with stronger media campaigns, more digital communication, increased social media activity, improved install visibility, and future product innovations.
This decision is about creating a stronger international brand that benefits from consistent communication and marketing investments across different markets. And actually, it was a big success in France, so why wouldn't it be a success in Belgium when they changed? So at the same time, the company is modernizing its brand identity while respecting fully the heritage. The iconic red color of Chicory Leroux remains, but the visual identity has been refreshed with a new or more contemporary look.
And the messaging now focuses on naturalness product origin taste well and making chicory relevant for today consumers Of course changing a familiar brand name requires careful communication And to reassure consumers, point-of-sales materials will clearly explain that only the name is changing. The recipe, the quality, and the product itself remains exactly the same. Retailers will also play an essential role in helping shoppers recognize their favorite products under the new branding, according to Elise Bastien, and therefore that's why all this local activation in-store is foreseen.
Looking ahead, Chicorée Leroux has really a clear ambition, is to become the leading reference for chicory-based beverages and to continue growing the category through education, innovation and new consumption occasions. As consumer interest in authenticity, wellness and local products continues to grow, the company actually believes that chicory is perfectly positioned to meet those evolving expectations so far from being a nostalgic beverage chicory could become one of the most interesting hot drinks categories of the year ahead that's why i'm doing this in june and so that you can be prepared when the big season is coming up in september october if you would like to discover of course the full story and hear directly from elise bastien well i invite you to listen to our complete conversation on the French stream of the retail influencer and you will find of course many more insights into the strategy innovation and future ambitions of the company in that conversation.
For the rest that's it for me today hope you enjoyed this little capsule about chicory and this little chat that I had with Elise Bastien thank you very much for listening and see you or talk to you next time.
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