While many shoppers loaded up on frozen fries and gooey chocolate desserts, the French frozen-food giant quietly crowned a very different champion in 2025, and its success says a lot about how people truly eat during the week.
Picard, the French frozen-food obsession
For many French households, Picard is less a supermarket and more a weekly ritual. The chain specialises in frozen foods only, from basic vegetables to elaborate patisserie and limited-edition dishes inspired by global cuisines.
When dinner inspiration runs dry and the idea of cooking from scratch feels exhausting, the freezer becomes a safety net. Instead of chopping onions or scrubbing pots, people reach for ready-made lasagne, creamy spinach, or breaded fish fillets. Picard has built its reputation on this promise: reliable quality, consistent taste, and a wide selection that can turn a near-empty fridge into a complete meal.
Compared with frozen sections in general supermarkets such as Auchan, Aldi or Intermarché, Picard offers a more curated experience. Customers know they’ll find the brand’s own recipes, seasonal novelties and carefully sourced ingredients, which encourages repeat visits and a certain loyalty that traditional retailers envy.
Why Picard’s range hits so many different lives
Part of the chain’s strength lies in how it targets very different types of customers without losing focus. Students, families, and older shoppers can all walk out with something that feels tailored to their routines and budgets.
Students on the clock: the “formule express” range
For students and young workers with limited time and limited money, Picard created “Formule Express”, a line of single-serving meals designed to go from freezer to microwave in minutes.
- Individually portioned, so there’s no waste
- Ready in a few minutes in a standard microwave
- Priced between €2 and €3.65, accessible even on tight budgets
These dishes can be heated at the office, in university microwaves or in a small studio flat. They’re not fine dining, but they’re more varied and often better balanced than takeaway chips or a last-minute sandwich.
Families needing comfort: the “esprit de famille” dishes
Parents tend to look for something different. They want quantity, comfort and the feeling of a home-style meal without the time commitment. For them, Picard’s “Esprit de Famille” line offers generous trays of familiar recipes: lasagne, gnocchi, cannelloni and other crowd-pleasing pasta dishes.
These products are designed to be shared, to fill plates quickly on a busy weeknight, and to please both children and adults. One large dish, a salad on the side, and dinner is done.
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Ready meals almost took the crown
Picard shared that in 2025, ready meals from the “Formule Express” line dominated its best-seller rankings. Two of the three most-sold items came from this very range.
Their chicken curry with coconut milk and rice, and a creamy chicken-and-pasta dish with mushroom sauce, both landed on the podium of sales in 2025.
Both options combine comforting flavours with a decent price point. They feel “cooked” rather than industrial, while remaining practical enough to eat between lectures or after a long commute.
Yet, despite this strong performance from ready meals, they were not the number one product at the chain. The true best-seller came from a completely different category.
The unexpected winner: ultra-fine green beans
In 2025, Picard’s top-selling product was not meat, not a dessert and not a main course. It was a bag of ultra-fine green beans.
Picard’s extra-fine French green beans, sold at €2.69 for a 1 kg bag, were the brand’s most-purchased item of the year.
The beans are grown in France and frozen quickly after harvest, which helps preserve flavour, colour and texture. Customers praised them for being “stringless”, with a “tender” bite and a pleasant, mild taste once cooked.
In terms of preparation, they fit neatly into busy routines. Steamed, they’re ready in about 11 minutes. Cooked in boiling water, around 5 minutes is enough. That’s less time than it takes to peel and trim fresh beans, and they remain available year-round, not just during the short summer season.
Some reviews point out a small downside: a few beans can still have tiny stems attached, requiring a quick check when serving picky eaters. Yet this minor flaw hasn’t stopped shoppers from throwing the product into their baskets again and again.
What this says about how people really eat
Picard’s 2025 ranking reveals something subtle about modern eating habits. While indulgent desserts and rich pasta dishes attract attention, what people consistently buy are building blocks: simple, versatile ingredients that can support many meals.
Frozen vegetables tick several boxes at once. They’re easy to portion, require no washing or trimming, and cut food waste. A 1 kg bag of green beans can stretch across multiple dinners: one night as a side for roast chicken, another stirred into a stir-fry, and perhaps a final portion in a salad or soup.
| Product type | Main benefit | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Ready meals (“Formule Express”) | Speed and convenience | Solo lunches, late-night dinners |
| Family trays (“Esprit de Famille”) | Portion size and comfort | Family dinners, weekend meals |
| Extra-fine green beans | Versatility and year-round availability | Side dishes, salads, mixed recipes |
Why frozen vegetables keep winning space in freezers
Beyond Picard, frozen vegetables in general have been gaining ground in Europe and North America for years. They fit changing lifestyles where people cook less frequently but still want a basic level of nutrition and freshness.
Compared with canned vegetables, frozen ones often retain more texture and a fresher taste. They’re frozen shortly after harvest, which slows down the loss of vitamins. For green beans in particular, freezing helps keep their bright colour and gentle crunch.
For budget-conscious shoppers, frozen vegetables are also a way to avoid throwing money away. Fresh beans bought on a Sunday might end up limp by Thursday. Frozen ones sit patiently for weeks or months, ready whenever needed.
How to build a meal around a bag of green beans
Ultra-fine green beans might sound basic, but they can anchor a surprising number of quick meals. A typical working evening could look like this:
- Boil a handful of frozen beans for 5 minutes.
- Sear a chicken breast or reheat leftover roast.
- Add a drizzle of olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper to the beans.
In under 15 minutes, there’s a complete plate with protein, vegetables and flavour. The same beans can be tossed with cherry tomatoes, feta and a mustard vinaigrette for a cool salad, or added to pasta with garlic and parmesan for a simple twist.
Parents also use them to upgrade ready meals. A tray of frozen lasagne becomes a more balanced dinner when a side of steamed beans joins the table. That kind of flexibility helps explain why a humble vegetable outranked so many elaborate dishes on Picard’s shelves.
Frozen versus fresh: a quick reality check
The green-bean success story also raises a practical question: when does frozen make more sense than fresh? For people with small kitchens or irregular schedules, frozen vegetables reduce pressure. There is no rush to cook them before they spoil, and portions can be adapted exactly to how many people are at the table.
There are still trade-offs. Fresh beans in peak season can offer a slightly brighter snap and a more pronounced flavour. Some recipes, particularly those served cold, might benefit from very lightly cooked fresh beans. But for most everyday uses—side dishes, stir-fries, mixed into grains or pasta—the frozen version is close enough that convenience wins.
What shoppers can learn from Picard’s 2025 ranking
The fact that green beans beat out chocolate cakes and creamy pasta doesn’t mean people are turning their backs on treats. It suggests that when baskets are tallied across an entire year, the reliable everyday products appear more often than the indulgent extras.
One way to apply this at home is to think of the freezer less as a snack drawer and more as a pantry extension. Stocking a few basic frozen vegetables—green beans, peas, spinach—alongside a couple of ready meals creates a flexible toolkit. You can then combine quick mains with simple sides rather than relying solely on single-dish solutions.
For those watching their budget or trying to adjust their diet, this strategy also reduces temptation. If the freezer’s main residents are vegetables and practical meal components, desserts and heavy comfort foods become occasional additions rather than routine defaults.
The quiet victory of Picard’s extra-fine green beans shows that, even in a nation famous for pastry, everyday practicality still drives what people actually buy.