Serving up success Beauvais Foods

For more than 160 years Denmark’s Beauvais Foods has been developing its range of food and beverage products. Abigail Saltmarsh looks at its operations as part of the Orkla group.

SERVING UP SUCCESS

Beauvais Foods has a long history in the business but that is not stopping it from pushing forward and looking for significant growth under the umbrella of Orkla.

The company is part of the Nordic conglomerate, which is seeking expansion through acquisition, and building Beauvais Foods at the same time.

Lars Seeberg, export director, said the group was seeking to expand the company’s product portfolio and to push into new geographical markets over the coming years.

“We are looking to double our turnover and to be a bigger and more important player in the market,” he says. “We are looking to acquire companies that fit into our core business – or are close to it – and to grow our export levels.”

From France to Denmark

Beauvais Foods was started back in 1860 by Jean Desiré Beauvais, a Frenchman who settled in Denmark after marrying. One of the main products the company first became known for was canned ready meals and tomato ketchup.

The company’s portfolio today includes known brands as Pastella, DEN GAMLE FABRIK (The Old Manufactory), Glyngøre, Risifrutti, Panda and, of course, Beauvais. It has an annual turnover of approximately DKK 600 million and employs about 220 members of staff.

“Today our core products remain branded consumer goods. We manufacture a range of products, including ketchups, dressings, pasta and canned and fresh seafood,” he explains.

Part of the group

Orkla is a major player in the Nordic region. It currently operates in the branded consumer goods, aluminium solutions and financial investment sectors.

The group’s strategic focus is on growth in its branded consumer goods operations. It has 30,000 employees in more than 40 countries and a turnover of NOK 61 billion.

The expert in glass packaging for food and beverages

Stölzle Glass Group, www.stoelzle.com, office@stoelzle.com

Beauvais Foods is part of its Orkla Foods Nordic sector, which primarily consists of food and beverage businesses in the region and the Baltic.

Other companies in Orkla Foods Nordic include Stabburet in Norway, Procordia Food and Abba Seafood in Sweden, Felix Abba and Panda in Finland, Põltsamaa Felix and Kalev in Estonia, Spilva in Latvia and Suslavicius-Felix in Lithuania.

Activities are concentrated on the business unit’s own strong brands within the product categories of pizzas, pies, sauces, seafood, ready meals, jam, cordials, chocolate and bakery goods. Through its wellknown brands, Orkla Foods Nordic largely holds number one and number two positions in its home markets.

Danish pasta

“One recent move saw the acquisition of a fresh pasta business, which means we now have fresh pasta production at Beauvais Foods,” says Mr Seeberg. “We are trying to grow this business and convince people that pasta does not have to come from Italy but can come from Denmark too.

“We opened a new pasta plant in 2010 and have been investing in it ever since.”

In another step in its drive for growth, Orkla has entered into an agreement with the Rieber family to buy their shares in Rieber & Son ASA. Rieber & Son is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, and is a major supplier to grocery stores in Scandinavia, parts of Central Europe and Russia. Its brands are Toro, Vitana, K-Salat, Delecta, Frödinge, Chaka and Bahncke. Toro is Norway’s leading supplier of sauces, soups and ready meals. K-Salat has a good position in mayonnaise, tartar sauce and salads in both Sweden and Denmark.

“This could take Beauvais Foods into new product areas, such as fresh and chilled salads, but we are waiting to see how it works out,” he adds.

A bigger cake

According to Mr Seeberg, some 75 per cent of Beauvais Foods sales are domestic. The remainder go to some 30 different countries worldwide.

“Germany is the next largest market for us, followed by The Netherlands,” he explains. “Our focus now is to maintain our presence in the markets where we already have a presence and to strengthen our position in Germany.

“It would be good to see a bigger portion of the cake going for export – but at the same time we are trying to make the whole cake much bigger too.”

As the company grows, he stresses, it will maintain its independence. And although there is also an emphasis on growth through acquisition, organic expansion is certainly a key driver going forward.

“What is good is that we work through local systems and have management at that level,” he explains. “But we are able to do that with a strong mother company behind us – a brand-focused company which is prepared to invest.” n