The agri-food group Bonduelle have invested €500,000 in a 1,000m2 innovation centre in Saint-Priest. The site, which has 27 employees and was unveiled on Monday by President of the group, Christophe Bonduelle, is dedicated to innovation, product development and research.
The Saint-Priest innovation centre depends on a subsidiary of the Bonduelle group, Bonduelle Fresh Europe, based in Genas (the subsidiary has 242 employees in the Rhone). It groups together all of their fresh, ready to consume activities (fresh cut sachets of salads, prepared salads and snack salads). The subsidiary recorded an 8% increase in turnover in 2014-2015 reaching almost €400 million. During the same period snacking increased by 26% and fresh cut by 9%. The new centre is therefore strategic for the Bonduelle group and their subsidiary.
Pascal Bredeloux, Director General of Bonduelle Fresh Europe, says that the aim of the new centre is to “shorten the ‘time-to-market’”. The delays can be under 6 months as consumer behaviour is changing more rapidly, which explains why Bonduelle wants closer contact with the market.
The Bonduelle group is based in Villeneuve-d’Ascq (North) and had a €1.982 billion turnover in 2014-2015. They have 9,755 employees in 18 countries. The group is primarily controlled by the family-run company Pierre et Benoit Bonduelle SAS.
