Triballat Noyal (Noyal-sur-Vilaine, 1230 employees on 15 production plants, €325M annual turnover) committed to organic products as early as 1975 and today offers some thirty organic dairy products under its Vrai brand. These head the list of sales in their category in major retail outlets, excluding own brand.

150 operators supply the dairy with 50 ML/year of organic cow’s, goat’s and sheep’s milk for its production of yoghurts, crème fraîche and soft white cheese (20 to 25% of turnover). The brand has increasingly been making a name for itself through commercials and is now found in school canteens and outside catering.

Triballat Noyal is back on the milk carton market. In May 2018, the company launched its fair trade milk under the Petit Breton brand. The milk, guaranteed to be GMO-free, is produced according to specific requirements (pasture, fodder produced mostly on farms, GMO-free cow feed, minimum grass area per cow) created in close collaboration with breeders, and advocating responsible agriculture. To start with, 17 producers commit to supply 10 million litres of milk a year. In the long term, the 77 conventional milk producers of Triballat Noyal will be able to apply. The brand could then become available in the form of yogurt, butter and cream.

Triballat was also the first to offer a range of fresh soy-based desserts in 1988 under the brand name Sojasun. The company has since rounded out its brand with other plant products: drinks, soy steaks, delicatessen products and nuggets. The brand now accounts for 62% of the ultra fresh vegetable market in France.  Sojasun is also present in Italy, Spain, Maghreb and produces ranges for German and British private labels. The soya used by the Breton group comes from the south of France and is guaranteed to be GMO-free, in addition to being directly processed in the factories of the group. Triballat is now looking to develop products based on hemp, a plant produced in Bretagne.

In 2017, the group also acquired Céréco (Domagné, 170 employees, €40M annual turnover; Grillon d’Or and Terres et Céréales Bio brands). This breakfast cereal specialist has grown by over 20% in the last three years, possibly creating the need for a new industrial system in the medium term.

Today, half the group’s turnover comes from its plant products.

This operation demonstrates Triballat’s wish to focus its development strategy on expanding its range of plant and organic products “from breakfast to dinner”.

 

Sources : Les Echos – 31/03/2017, 11/08/2017 &29/05/2018, France 3 Régions – 02/10/2018