Le Fourgon, a Marquette-lez-Lille startup innovating in glass deposits for reuse, announced an €8.2 million extension to its Series A funding round to expand its ranges of returnable products and develop its B2B offering.
This financing was carried out in two stages: €5.7 million raised from its main investors – ID4 Ventures, Teampact Ventures, La Poste Ventures, with the arrival of Bred, Noshaq and Future Positive Capital – followed by €2.5 million raised from 1590 individual investors via the sustainable investment platform Lita.
“We are deeply grateful to our investors and the 1590 citizens who have joined us in this adventure. This contribution to our Series A not only strengthens our capacity for action; it testifies to a collective commitment to a fundamental change in our consumption patterns. At a time when France has set itself the target of reducing the use of plastic packaging by 50% by 2030, we want to accelerate the democratization of reuse and make deposits an essential reflex. Because changing our habits to protect the environment should be within everyone’s reach, ” says Charles Christory, CEO and Co-founder of Le Fourgon.
Founded in 2021 by Charles Christory, Stéphane Dessein and Maxime Tharin, Le Fourgon’s mission is to reintroduce the glass deposit system in France in order to reduce waste linked to single-use packaging. The idea was born of the realisation that recyclable garbage cans are filling up faster than they are emptying, with no simple solution for reducing waste, particularly plastic bottles.
According to figures provided by Le Fourgon, around 36 million plastic bottles are bought every day in France. With 4.5 million tonnes of plastic waste produced every year in France, each reused container reduces energy consumption by 75%, CO2 emissions by 79% and water consumption by 33%.
Le Fourgon offers a home delivery service for returnable products (drinks, pasta, rice, hygiene and beauty products, household products, etc.). Customers place their order via the website or mobile app, choose a delivery slot, and have it delivered by electric vehicle. On the next delivery, Le Fourgon collects the empty containers, which are then cleaned and reused, contributing to a zero-waste approach.
Since its launch, Le Fourgon has developed a wide range of local products delivered door-to-door every day in 20 French cities (over 2,500 towns), and has prevented the use of over 25 million single-use bottles and containers, or over 9,250 tonnes of plastic. With Le Fourgon, 65k customers now divide their daily waste by 3, thanks to containers that are washed and reused up to 40 times.
This follows a previous €10 million Series A funding round in November 2023, as reported by EU-Startups.
Since then, the company’s challenge remains unchanged: the massive return of deposits and the democratisation of beverage and food container reuse in every household in France. To this end, Le Fourgon will open in two new towns in the first half of 2025.
At the same time, the startup will continue to expand its ranges of returnable products, food and household products, with a focus on groceries and home products. Lastly, it aims to develop its B2B offering – which currently represents 12% of its business – and to recruit 100 new employees to support its strong growth. By 2028, Le Fourgon expects to have reused 100 million containers.
“From the outset, Le Fourgon was an obvious choice for Lita. Fitting in perfectly with our impact investment thesis, France’s leading deposit company, and a pioneer in reverse logistic, stood out for its strike force and rapid execution. At Lita, we are convinced that it is the company best placed to massively increase the use of deposits in France and Europe, while making reuse the only credible alternative to plastic recycling or bio-sourced materials,” asserts Maxime Getten, Investment Director at Lita.
“We’re delighted to continue supporting Le Fourgon in its development. Their innovative vision and commitment to a sustainable model are perfectly in line with our values at ID4 Ventures. Participating in this new round of funding is a way of reaffirming our confidence in their ability to transform the sector in a positive and impactful way,” says Hervé Cuviliez, Co-founder of ID4 Ventures.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2025/01/ditching-plastic-le-fourgon-lands-e8-2-million-to-scale-reusable-glass-deposits/
