His father Joseph was a baker and had a store under the church tower of Lembeek (a borough of Halle).
Franz Colruyt started working with his father and delivered food to stores and large consumers.
In 1928, Franz Colruyt decided to shut down the bakery and start up a wholesale business in colonial goods, such as coffee and spices.
Franz Colruyt also starts bottling wine and roasting coffee.
At that time, the company is already delivering to about 800 small independent stores and has about 150 employees.