THE COOPERATIVE
From left to right:- Rémy Chobriat – Technical Sales Adviser
- Aline Meder – Cooperative Farmer Services Coordinator
- Aurélien Fournaise – Field Agronomist
- Éléonore Gorka – Production Processes Expert
- Pascal-Frédéric Dupont – Centre Manager
- Alexandre Pinchedez – Agri-Services Manager
They are pictured here in the fields at Cernay-lès-Reims on 22 October
"MA COOP 2025"...
OUR COLLECTIVE AMBITION
This business plan engages the Cooperative in a process of fundamental transformative change. It is reinventing the Cooperative model to make sure that it remains the partner of choice for cooperative farmers. It is adapting to the diversity of their entrepreneurial plans and to the changing expectations of customers and wider society.
Ma Coop 2025: why do we need it? For several years now, farm yields have plateaued and even declined in some cases, progressively weakening farm incomes against the background of a changing agricultural economy. At the same time, consumer expectations are also changing very quickly. That means that the requirements of our industrial customers are also changing, and so are our own production models. This is why the VIVESCIA Coop is getting ready for transformative change. So what is its ambition for the next five years? Simply to continue to be – or become – THE
preferred partner for farmers in managing the financial and environmental performance of their farms. At the same time, the Cooperative is putting in place the resources it needs to strengthen its role as a partner for industrial customers, with particular emphasis on developing sectors of excellence. As a responsible stakeholder, it also remains committed to contributing to the dynamic economic growth and solidarity of the rural regions it serves.
.
Ma Coop 2025: how do we make it happen? After 15 months of collective work involving our elected representatives and management teams, the strategic framework was in place by the end of 2020, despite the effects of the pandemic. The priorities for the Operational Plan were approved in early February 2021. As a result, Ma Coop 2025 is structured around four main priorities, each of which represents a step towards progress and value creation for everyone involved.
ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATION – VIVESCIA LAUNCHES ITS HEV** Club
The aim of the new club is to support cooperative farmers who want to commit to High Environmental Value (HEV) standards, and give them the opportunity to share their experiences to help each other progress.The first events are scheduled for winter 2021.The creation of this HEV Club follows logically on from the Board of Administrator's decision to continue providing financial support for certification.
The VIVESCIA village at the Châlons Trade Fair on Thursday 9 September, with VIVESCIA administrators Marie Gailliot, Jean-Marc Longuet and Jean-Philippe Mignot and around twenty Cooperative partners and teams.
THE COOPERATIVE IN ACTION
The Logistics Performance Plan (LPP) is a structural component of the Ma Coop 2025 plan. It requires an overarching approach that encompasses personal safety, quality, maintenance, transport and all the associated human resources. So some small silos that had become obsolete have therefore been closed in favour of upgrading strategic distribution silos, and new master plans have been gradually implemented since January 2021. Combined with the development in on-farm storage, silo specialisation makes it possible to optimise the silo filling rates, reduce maintenance costs and optimise investment. The silos upgraded during the year to reinforce the new flow scheme include the Châtres site with a new dryer, the Mouy-sur-Seine site (operational since 15 June 2021), the Buchères site and the Brienne silo.
New regional structure, changes to the portfolios of the technical sales (TS) staff to reflect the communities of farmers identified, TS staff training and upskilling plans, a closer and more frequent working relationship between agronomists and TS staff, shorter line management structures to encourage interaction and more cross-functional working... all of these changes have been introduced for the benefit of our cooperative partners. The new Sales & Field Operations organisation developed with our teams was officially launched on 8/9 September 2021 at the Châlons Trade Fair, with rollout beginning at the end of that month.
Creation of the GERMEA* Business Chair: initial thoughts…
Created with the support of VIVESCIA and two other cooperatives, this sponsored academic chair combines research with teaching and professional practice. The outcomes of the studies conducted are available to all agricultural industry stakeholders. We meet François Purseigle**,
a university professor and co-holder of the GERMEA Chair with Geneviève Nguyen.
Why is there a need to study the transformation of farms?
The traditional model of the family farm that once seemed eternal is no longer the ‘obvious’ choice in terms of the way work is organised. So to facilitate the changes already underway and prepare for the future, we first need to understand the determining factors at work here by identifying how and why the transformation of farms into a diverse range of new production enterprises is accelerating, and how they can build new competitive advantages, create value and be part of the ongoing restructuring of value chains.
The GERMEA agreement was signed on 19 October 2021, but work had already begun before that...
Current studies show that agricultural entrepreneurs prioritise value creation wherever and whenever possible, because they see it as their guarantee of being able to bounce back when the economic environment takes a turn for the worse in a particular segment of their business. Three main types of strategy – which can coexist within a farm – emerge from these studies: the introduction of new areas of expertise (management controllers, crop managers, mechanics, etc.), the delegation of all or some farm activities to specialists, leaving the business free to refocus and become more professional in other areas, and partnerships, which involves creating a collective of farmers with the resources to meet a broad range of challenges.
*University professor, lecturer and researcher at Toulouse INP-ENSAT and Research Fellow at the Centre for Political Research at Sciences Po Paris.
More than 45% of volumes produced according to specific sourcing agreements in the next 5 years: that’s the goal set by VIVESCIA for all internal (VIVESCIA Industries) and external value chains. These sourcing agreements also provide the opportunity to develop one particular feature specific to VIVESCIA: on-farm storage. A series of meetings held in 2021 illustrate our approach and define the identity of VIVESCIA as a vertically integrated group that connects upstream with downstream for the benefit of all stakeholders. And since our region is home to many different types of farming, the Cooperative must work to all types of specification.
On 1, 3, 7, 10 and 24 June, current and potential Grands Moulins de Paris customers (artisan bakers and major industrial companies) were welcomed by cooperative farmers committed to developing specific value chains and sustainable agricultural practices in accordance with their specifications.
On 30 June, VIVESCIA President Christoph Büren and his counterpart at Moulin de Signy-l'Abbaye Jean-Jérôme Javelaud signed a three-year contract to seal this win-win partnership and secure the customer's supply of locally grown Apache wheat, a variety perfectly suited to the farming land of the Ardennes and which offers stability over time.
4 VIVESCIA silos
providing wheat and daily agronomic expertise
8 000 tonnes
of Apache wheat milled in 2020, with 10,000 tonnes forecast for 2021
240 bakers
served not only in the Ardennes, but also in the Marne, Aisne, Somme, Aube, Haute-Marne and Nord regions.
PRIORITISING INNOVATION IN AGRONOMY
We have twin ambitions in agronomy: to improve the sustainability of crops and cropping system and their resilience to unpredictable climate events, and continue to drive innovation forward to improve the competitiveness of of regional farms, regardless of their strategy.
To drive progress faster and further, the Cooperative's teams work closely with their counterparts in VIVESCIA's industrial subsidiaries, suppliers, startups, universities, engineering schools and technical institutes. Consistent with the challenges and initiatives implemented over recent years, and more recently in the context of the Ma Coop 2025 plan, three major topics have emerged: low-carbon agriculture, reducing the use of plant
protection products without compromising yields, and developing plant proteins.
#1
Low-carbon agriculture and soil
This topic unites a number of action plans already implemented by the Cooperative as part of its contribution to combating climate change: partnerships, including Carbonthink with TerraSolis, experiments, including the one involving Malteurop and Heineken (see p. 33), the promotion of organic fertilisers, and the optimisation of synthetic nitrogen fertilisation (split application, decision support tools and biologicals).
#2
Reducing the use of plant protection products without compromising yields
The levers we continue to work on include genetics to identify varieties that are tolerant to a range of different stresses (disease, insects, lodging, etc.). We are working in partnership with ARD (a VIVESCIA Group subsidiary) to study ways of making agricultural biologicals more technically accessible and financially affordable. The teams also maintain active monitoring of new and emerging technologies (precision farming, robotics, etc.), and conduct various tests with manufacturers and partner farmers.
#3
Plant proteins
The production of high-protein and leguminous crops is a valuable option for farmers, because they act as break crops, control weeds by alternating species, require no additional nitrogen, and contribute to low-carbon agriculture. For example, Cooperative teams are continuing their work on securing winter and spring pea production, controlling the bean beetle (the Pro'lag project), and developing non-GMO soya (Soja Feed and participation in the ARPEEGE project). They are also continuing to experiment on wheat protein to meet customer specifications for strong wheat.
— On the agenda:
adapting to climate change and implementing resilient, sustainable and affordable systems with low environmental impact.
The protein plan that forms part of the "France Relance" national recovery programme is designed to develop and structure the plant protein value chains in 11 regions.
Malteurop
From left to right:- Auriane Michel – Production Unit Manager at the Vitry-le-François maltings
- Elena Zakapko – Export Sales Manager
- Rémi Dequesnes – Raw Materials Purchasing Manager
- Édouard Amelot – Management Controller
They are pictured here at the Brasserie La Bouquine in Cormontreuil on 28 September
NEW MARKETS, NEW CHALLENGES!
Despite a global beer market still suffering the effects of the pandemic, Malteurop had a very satisfactory year, driven by a healthy 33% increase in export sales. Malteurop also celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2021, while continuing to prepare for its future with particular focus on entering the Mexican market, its ongoing operational excellence plans and the consultation process around reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. This positions the business around addressing an environmental challenge and ensuring a sustainable future for its value chain of upstream farmers and downstream brewing customers.
The global pandemic and the resulting closure of pubs and bars for several weeks – months in some countries – halted the steady growth of the beer
market seen in recent years. Nevertheless, the recovery expected in 2021 arrived in some regions, and Malteurop was able to act with great agility to take full advantage of it. Anticipating the relative stagnation in its domestic markets of Europe and North America, the company won new business from markets in Africa, Asia and South America where the recovery was much stronger. Thanks to all the hard work done by its teams, Malteurop was able to deliver satisfactory performances for the financial year.
Capital investment in new markets with high growth potential
Work continues on building the Meoqui maltings in Mexico (see p. 32). This strategically important project is being carried out in close partnership with Heineken. It has two central aims: to accelerate the development of our malt sales into Mexico’s super-dynamic beer market, which is struggling to source adequate malt volumes, and to develop a local brewing barley industry by supporting farmers and energising a win-win dynamic for the local economy. Other ongoing projects that will ultimately contribute to our future successes include the expansion of our storage capacity at our Belgorod site in Russia to improve customer service, construction of a co-product pelletising unit at our Geelong site, and a new bagging facility for Craft malt at Winona in the USA.
Reducing CO2 emissions from our industrial facilities and producing low-carbon barley
Decarbonising its industrial processes is a major issue for Malteurop, as is the company’s contribution to supporting initiatives to grow more low-carbon barley. Both issues are integral to its M.A.L.T. CSR policy. Its commitments around installing more energy-efficient equipment and transitioning to energy generated from more environmentally friendly sources are already feeding through to the front line of the business. The development of a solar farm in Spain to provide 15% of the site's electricity demand, and the rollout of innovative battery-based energy storage systems in Germany are just two initiatives that will be replicated elsewhere over the coming months and years. The first experiments conducted in partnership with Heineken and the VIVESCIA Cooperative on the cultivation of low-carbon* barley in France (see p. 33) and those underway in Spain, Russia, Australia and Mexico reflect the commitment of Malteurop to remain true to its agricultural DNA through its contribution to making the barley-malt-beer value chain more sustainable.
*Sustainable Agriculture Initiative: this worldwide platform was formed by leading agrifood companies in 2002 to promote
sustainability in agriculture, and now has more than 100 members.
Impacted particularly badly by the pandemic in 2020, the craft beer market returned to growth in 2021 at an even faster pace than that of other markets. In France, which has more craft breweries than any other EU country (2,300 at the end of 2020), 2021 sales were double those of 2019. Malteurop has further strengthened its presence in China and increased its share of this market to around 40%.
In the USA, where bagged malt sales doubled between 2019 and 2021, the company continues to expand with the opening of two new distribution hubs (one on the West Coast and the other on the East Coast), and construction of a bagging and distribution facility at its Winona plant. At the same time, marketing and sales strategies are being refined with the rollout of two distinct positioning strategies – Malteurop Malting Company in North America and "the Farmer-Maltsters" in Europe – and the extension of its e-commerce platform, which is already online in the USA, Spain and Poland.
.
Malteurop celebrates its 60th anniversary!
Malteurop was born in the Champagne region of France in 1961, when farmers decided to take control of the sector themselves... It marked the emergence of a nascent processing industry that set the development model pf VIVESCIA's
forebears' apart from its competitors. 60 years later, Malteurop is one of the world's leading maltsters. Despite almost two years of pandemic, around 1,000 employees around the world celebrated the company’s anniversary on 20 October 2021, looking back over its development and reminding us of the roots and DNA of our company.
MEXICO: WORK CONTINUES ON THE FUTURE MEOQUI MALTINGS IN MEXICO
This plant in a market new to Malteurop is integral to its partnership with Heineken, and underpinned by a long-term malt supply contract. The pandemic certainly slowed progress on the project, but on-site construction is now well underway, and production of the first tonne of malt is now scheduled for summer 2023.
At the beginning of July 2021, the French and American teams travelled to Meoqui to attend the kick-off meeting for all project stakeholders. In addition to the construction of the new facility itself, this project also draws on the expertise of Malteurop, its operational skills and its experience in helping partner farmers to supply their barley to local breweries. Malteurop has been progressing this project for three years now, and already has more than 100 Mexican partner farmers committed to producing local malting barley. Ultimately, between 30,000 and 35,000 hectares of barley will be sown annually.
LOCAL EVERYWHERE
With a presence in 14 countries worldwide, Malteurop has the broad international presence needed to respond with winning agility to all its markets.
MOVING TOWARDS LOW-CARBON BARLEY!
The first low-carbon barley was harvested in the VIVESCIA region in summer 2021.
This is the fruit of experiments conducted with the VIVESCIA Cooperative in partnership with Heineken. Its biggest strength is the involvement of every link in the value chain, from grower to storage facility, maltster and brewer.
Fifteen VIVESCIA cooperative farmers agreed to take part in this three-year experiment. The ultimate aim is to develop agricultural methods that move farming closer to carbon neutrality by increasing the carbon storage capacity of agricultural soil, while continuing to provide brewers with the quality of barley they need and expect. This experiment aligns perfectly with our CSR commitments to reduce our environmental impact and support farmers in transitioning to a sustainable, low-carbon agricultural model. The same challenges are equally important to Heineken.
A range of different management tools and agronomic levers developed by the VIVESCIA Cooperative are available for making this transition, from the selection of cover crops, to plant genetics and management of nitrogen-rich manure. The R&D teams at Malteurop are working to identify and select new barley varieties that are more resistant to climate change, with a research programme that includes increasing the number of fields devoted to trials in countries where the company has operations.
On 18 June, Heineken's R&D, CSR and Purchasing teams met with the cooperative farmers involved in the low-carbon barley experiment to let them see first hand the initial outcomes of the agronomic protocols already implemented in the fields.
* Introduced by the French government in 2019, this label provides certification for greenhouse gas emission reduction and carbon sequestration projects
so that they can be adopted for profitable business use. VIVESCIA contributes to the work carried out by the consortium of field crop organisations
now drafting the Low Carbon Label’ method for field crops.
Grands Moulins de Paris
From left to right:- Jérôme Brohet – Artisan Bakery Technical Adviser for the Île-de-France region
- Ekaterina Spoya – Trade Raw Materials Buyer
- Hugues Favier – Director of the Verneuil l'Etang mill and the Briare milling mixes site
- Lisa Marques – Artisan Bakery Product Manager (flours, milling mixes and ingredients)
They are pictured here outside the Paris Bakery and Patisserie School on 18 October
A grain of audacity
Digitalisation, sustainable sectors, product innovation... Every day, Grands Moulins de Paris works on building and maintaining its links with agriculture and its close working relationship with artisan bakers. And Francine continues to be the favourite flour brand for French families.
Results improved over the financial year, despite a shrinking market
aken across the full spectrum of markets, the 3.6% reduction in volume suffered by the French milling industry (source: ANMF) impacted artisan bakeries particularly badly. Despite this challenging context, our Francine flour brand continues to do well, increasing its market share by more than four points during the year. At the same time, Grands Moulins de Paris is accelerating implementation of its efficiency and competitiveness plans and taking its sourdough expertise to a new level, with the construction of a new production facility at the Reims site (see inset).
Leveraging our local roots
The origin of the raw materials and ingredients included in food, and details of production processes come top of the list in terms of information for today’s consumers, who see French-grown wheat as being synonymous with high quality. The company has taken these expectations fully on board, because the majority of the high-quality milling grains used by its eight regional mills are sourced from local growers within a radius of 125 km.
Continuing to drive innovation and update our ranges to set ourselves apart
As a flour specialist for over 100 years, Grands Moulins de Paris continues to provide bakers with full access to its expertise
so that they can offer their customers innovative recipes for Traditional French Bread, Patisseries and Viennoiseries. Platine Label Rouge CRC flour and Berrouga baking mix (winner of a 2021 Pépites de la Boulangerie award) are just two of the new products developed during the year. Campaillette also launched its organic Grand Siècle baguette and redesigned its brand identity during the year (see p. 41). In frozen products,
innovation for our Recettes de mon Moulin range focuses on recipes and ingredients, with no fewer than 15 new products launched in 2020/2021 (twice as many as in 2019/2020). These included the Brownie Swirl, the Lemon Cake, travel cakes (Raspberry Madeleine and Coconut Macaroons) and ready-to-fill long-format tart cases (sweet pastry and shortbread options). Still leader of its market and still avant-garde in its approach, Francine has extended its range of organic flours with the addition of T80, and introduced blockchain technology for its Bio T55
organic flour. The brand also launched a new practical, resealable and recyclable pack for its two flagship products (T45 wheat flour and "Fluide" flour) during the year, supported by a TV commercial and digital campaign (see p. 40).
Building closer and simpler relationships with artisan bakers
Grands Moulins de Paris inevitably maintains very close ties with bakers, since so many of them are trained at the Paris Bakery and Patisserie School, and appreciate the opportunity to receive personalised support on a daily basis. In today’s world, social media and the e-commerce website mean that they can now be in direct contact with these support teams 24/7. Traffic continues to build on the Grands Moulins de Paris e-commerce website, with more than 6,000 new accounts opened during the first lockdown in spring 2020. In fact, 20% of revenue from the artisan bakery industry is now generated through this channel. A series of on-farm meetings were also held with bakers from all over France in June 2021. These Routes des Blés (Wheat Route) trips (see inset) involved more than fifteen meetings, five of which were held in the VIVESCIA cooperative regions of Ardennes, Aube and Marne, and hosted industrial, key account and potential customers.
From field to fork. Soil conservation agriculture, the CRC® scheme, organic farming, Label Rouge, HEV... All these quality schemes
and more are governed by detailed specifications. The challenge is to reconcile the expectations of consumers looking for authenticity and naturalness, who pay close attention to the origin of the products they buy, and those of customers who are looking beyond labels for simple, high-quality flours that allow them to showcase their expertise. Take the range of pure flours, for example...
A range of ingredients, ancient grains, organic flours and other products carefully selected to allow bakers to express their creativity and personality. The range includes the new Coeur d'Épi flours.
Developed jointly by the VIVESCIA Cooperative and Grands Moulins de Paris, this 100% VIVESCIA sourcing agreement was developed thanks to the expertise of cooperative farmers VIVESCIAgrosol club, who are committed to soil conservation agriculture. This
farming system puts the soil at the heart of agronomic practices and combats climate change through the ability of healthy soils to sequester carbon. These practices also promote animal and plant biodiversity in soil through limited tillage, the introduction of companion plants and perennial ground cover. In return for their three-year commitment, farmers have the security of a long-term contract that guarantees them a fair price for their crops. The first flour from this virtuous sourcing agreement has been available to artisan bakers in the Grand Est and Île-de-France regions since spring 2021. A second product - a traditional bread flour - was added to the range.
Grands Moulins de Paris celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019. A year later, the company launched its new signature: ‘Un grain d’audace, un choix d’avenir’ (A grain of audacity, a choice for the future), based on its four personality traits: True – Passionate – Committed – Simple, accompanied by its first ever communication campaign that launched in January 2021. The ‘TOUT EST VRAI’ (IT’S ALL TRUE) campaign is built around four strong commitments: Good, Local, Close and Responsible. In reflecting our own values, it focuses on the people who work every day to make Grands Moulins de Paris a success from field to fork. The campaign was run on social media, on posters in our own sites and in the form of promotional inserts.
Our deactivated and dehydrated sourdough starters contribute their own unique aromatic signature to bread. Our Nancy site has been producing them using a traditional baking method for more than 50 years. The opening of this new production unit in Reims allows us to expand production of our wheat, CRC wheat, rye, CRC rye and wheat germ sourdough starters. Production has been ramped up gradually since production began in February 2021.
FRANCINE: CLOSER, MORE INNOVATIVE AND MORE CONNECTED ALL THE TIME!
Francine is not only the French flour market leader, but is also integral to French culinary heritage. But it has lost none of its adventurous spirit or appetite for innovation. Quite the opposite, in fact! Year after year, it offers affordable flour, bread flour, baking mixes and yeast to help home bakers. But that’s not all...
It means that consumers can now access full traceability of the product, from the origin of the wheat to the bagging of the flour by simply scanning the QR code on the front of each bag, and entering the batch number in the online app. This system also provides the opportunity to highlight compliance of the product with the specifications – 100% organic wheat grown in France – and promote the commitment of partner growers through videos featuring individual farmers. Another benefit of the online app is that it offers a gateway to the world of Francine, as well as discount vouchers and recipe ideas via a chatbot.
Trust and traceability are now central expectations of today’s consumers. 80% of French people say that they regularly look for product origin information, while 49% believe that the use of new technologies can improve the transparency of product information.
LSA survey – 2021
Recyclable, convenient and easy to open and close, this new cardboard packaging made from responsibly sourced fibres with a cap made from sugar cane residues (excluding the closure and pouring gauge) coincides with the return of Francine to TV advertising. The 20-second commercial immerses viewers in the warm, family atmosphere of everyday cooking to highlight how easy the new pack is to use, and is designed to consolidate our image among families concerned about healthy eating and keen to share the pleasures of home cooking. Francine also launched a major digital campaign to coincide with its TV campaign.
CAMPAILLETTE: ARTISANAL, STYLISH AND INCLUSIVE...
Campaillette is both a range of specialty flours for artisan bakers AND a bakery concept first introduced in 2015. Our chain now has more than 1,400 members. To respond more effectively to their needs and consumer expectations, Campaillette is moving forward with a new brand positioning, new visual identity... and more.
leasure, adventurous spirit, trust and responsibility: Campaillette's core values reflect current consumer behaviour. Looking for greater meaning in the purchases they make, they tend to favour brands that are committed, supportive and respectful of the environment. We have created the Campaillette Collective because we understand that Campaillette independent artisan bakers share precisely the same values. The principle that underpins the new collective is that we are stronger together within a structure that respects the individual personality of each artisan. So the Campaillette Collective gives every baker the opportunity to express themselves!
These updated values and the introduction of the Campaillette Collective are accompanied by an updated visual identity. The inspiration behind Campaillette lies deep in traditional French culture. This commitment is reflected in the ‘small squares’ motif now a part of its brand identity. In the collective imagination, this image evokes thoughts of shared enjoyment, sociability and simple pleasures. It has now been applied to the POS material used by our Campaillette members (bags, etc.) and in the design of the bakeries themselves.
The new Campaillette Collective is another benefit, because it allows me to express my own talents as an artisan baker, at the same time as being part of a network.”
Délifrance
From left to right:- Meriam Ouertani – Customer Compliance Coordinator
- Giampiero Maggi – Head of Recruitment
- Pei Ching Long – Business Development Manager at Délifrance Franchise Internationale
- Bourama Dicko – Accountant
- Kevin Lafay – Head of Planning for bread, patisserie and savoury products
- Juliette Lefebvre – Viennoiserie Product Manager
They are pictured here at the Paris Bakery and Patisserie School on 18 October
RENEWED IMPETUS AND A NEW PHASE OF DEVELOPMENT!
After two years of major organisational, operational excellence and sales policy changes and transformation, the initial results are now coming through. Despite the continuing impact of the global pandemic on the food service market, Délifrance's strong performance has put it firmly back on the road to growth.
The trend towards naturalness, authenticity and products inspired by artisanal craft expertise has accelerated considerably in recent years. The teams at Délifrance have worked hard to move their business forward faster than the market, strengthen their customer-centric organisational structure, and continue transforming their product portfolio.
An accelerated innovation policy - The teams have successfully capitalised on the strengths of Délifrance, its French-style bakery skills and expertise, at the same time as combining global ranges with local specialities. The excellence of its products has been recognised with a number of awards (see pp. 46 and 47), and the number of competitive contracts won throughout Europe during the year have opened up new prospects for growth.
Stronger partnership relationships - Creating value for all, because our customers' success are also Délifrance's success: this is the challenge of the new managerial and commercial dynamic that will be implemented throughout the 2020/2021 financial year. In addition to restructuring part of its management team, the sales function as a whole has also been restructured to increase its impact. Everything is now in place to boost customer preference, from range diversity and new product/upgraded product development programme (more than 100 every year, on average) to product quality, the responsible sourcing of ingredients, our membership of a Group with agricultural and cooperative roots, the work done on accelerating CSR commitments, and the tools needed to build more effective sales relationships to help our customers to bounce back after the pandemic.
Service quality and operational efficiency - These are major challenges demanding constant attention. Which is why the company is ramping up training programmes to achieve the best standards in the industry and optimise the use of production lines to produce the products and orders of its customers. Délifrance is also investing elsewhere, including in a new cold store for its flagship viennoiserie production facility in Romans-sur-Isère.
New Corporate Mission and Vision! The corporate mission of Délifrance is a fundamental part of its strategy, and was redefined during the year. The new mission celebrates its French roots, its exceptional baking expertise accumulated over many years, and its agricultural roots as a VIVESCIA Group company. It also embodies its desire for continuous progress, particularly in terms of social responsibility, its passion for its profession, and its commitment to irresistibly delicious products! The new Délifrance vision is clear: to be the leading partner in the frozen bakery market by doubling its size within the next five years.
INNOVATION AND QUALITY ARE CENTRAL TO OUR DNA
In meeting customer needs and anticipating consumer expectations, Délifrance combines tradition with innovation, and local with global. That much is clear from the major trends that drive innovation at Délifrance: Naturalness and Sustainability, Tradition and Authenticity, Convenience and Homemade…
A pioneer and leader in this segment, Délifrance has seen volumes grow by an impressive 45% (80% in the UK thanks to a partnership with a leading coffee shop chain). Driven by supermarkets and hypermarkets, this market benefited from consumer expectations around hygiene, convenience and homemade products during the pandemic.
69%
of French people say they are concerned about the effects of food on their health
95%
of consumers see the list of ingredients on patisserie products as importan
Bronze award for the Sourdough Baguette in the Best New Bakery Product category
With a soft, open crumb, crisp golden crust and a subtle sourdough flavour, this stone-baked baguette is made in Dunkirk for one of the UK's largest wholesalers.
Our ‘Le Passionné’ croissant wins an award in the Viennoiseries category of the 2021 Pépites de la Boulangerie Awards
Produced in France from high-quality ingredients using a technique inspired by traditional baking, Le Passionné embodies the very essence of French baking.
A Sustainable Development prize at France Snacking's 2021 Snacking d'Or Awards for our new Mémoire half baguette
This winning product is made at our Dunkirk site using French CRC® wheat flour, and has proved a huge hit with the profession and consumers alike.
2 Awards in the Netherlands for our spelt cob rolls: Le Classique* in the Food service category, and Innova Classique* in the Retail category
These hand-shaped spelt cob rolls are produced at our German production site in Altdorf.
This success story began in Germany with the acquisition of the Altdorf site in 2017. Since then, Délifrance has extended this expertise to all its bread production sites, first in the UK and then in Italy. The launch in France of the Mémoire baguette range designed by MOF Artisan Baker Pascal Tepper takes the concept further by using sustainably and responsibly produced CRC® flour.
Go Clean: and that means patisserie too!!
"Natural" and "clean label" are now basic customer expectations, which is why Délifrance is transforming its patisserie range. In France, where we maintain strong market positions in traditional patisserie products, the R&D, marketing, sales and production teams have gone back to basics to eliminate or reduce additives in the millefeuille and dessert ranges produced at Landévant in Brittany, as well as in the choux pastry range (éclairs, religieuses, salambos, etc.) produced at Theix in Brittany, which has been the focus for targeted investment to meet growing consumer demand for "clean label" products.
Too Good To Go: a long-term partnership to combat food waste
Délifrance has been working closely with a number of food banks, hospitals and schools for 13 years now. As part of its No Waste, All Taste
initiative to make good use of unsold goods and combat waste, Délifrance has formed partnerships with the Too Good to Go app in Italy and Belgium, saving more than 500 baskets of food in 2020/2021. In France, Délifrance has run a number of zero food waste campaigns, saving more than 1,350 baskets of food, which equates to reducing CO2 emissions by 3.37 tonnes.
From March 2023, it will be able to store around 10 days’ production for direct delivery to customers in France and the the rest of Europe. These direct deliveries will help to reduce the number of transfers between the production facility and external logistics platforms. The result will be greater flexibility and efficiency, as well as lower CO2 as a result of optimising logistics and saving energy by installing more energy-efficient refrigeration equipment. This initiative is an integral part of the site transformation plan, which also includes increasing production capacity and creating 40 new jobs.
