Culinary Ingredients
from Here and There


SELL YOUR PRODUCTS TO THE FRENCH FOOD INDUSTRY :
MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

The French food industry offers significant and growing market opportunities to local or foreign companies willing to develop their business towards this segment of the food market. Thanks to the numerous local food manufacturers and to the growing interest of French consumers towards innovative culinary ideas, selling ingredients or intermediate food products to the French food industry is a market opportunity soon to exploit.
The following data are gathered from various consultable sources (CIAA, ANIA, INSEE) or internally generated.

1. The French food industry, a strategic economical activity in the country
France has long been and is still known for its culinary traditions of "Gastronomie"" and "French Cuisine".
The French food industry developed very quickly over the past 40 years, both through domestic and export sales. This expansion was essentially based on industrially exploiting a long tradition and a large range of mostly regional savoury or sweet meals and foods (and wines). It was also efficiently supported by the development of powerful wholesale distributors, who are today amongst the largest ones in the world.

As a result the French food industry today is:

* the 1st European Food Producer with 136 Billion € (19% of EU25 food trade)
* the 1st Industry in France, ahead of car and electric / electronic sectors
* the 1st World Exporter for processed food products (10% of food trade)

There are 10,481 food manufacturers in France including 3,106 with more
than 20 employees and 90% with less than 250 employees : therefore besides some large groups, the food industry is mainly made of multiple medium-sized companies, looking for increased international exposure in terms of sales but also procurement (especially in the € area where transactions get easier).

2. The French food industry, growingly permeable to various culinary inspirations:
There are changes in eating paterns and food products sold in France. They are greatly influenced by:
* The curiosity -and sometimes absolute passion- of French people for food ;
(Food is one of the most socially important and frequently discussed matter in France !)
*
The larger mobility of people (on vacation, at job) bringing them more in contact with foreign cuisines ;
* Development of outside home consumption, with a vast choice of culinary proposals from restaurants inspired or hold by the multiple ethnic communities today living in France ;
* Loss of the traditional home cooking expertise, linked to the widespread desire to spend less time preparing meals


Although many French food manufacturers logically rely on the valorization of locally inspired recipes, these changing eating habits of French consumers and the permanent search for product innovation make R&D and Purchasing departments of the French food industry growingly interested by :
* Intermediate food products directly usable in industrial environment ;
* Intermediate food products bringing new flavours and textures , inspired by more 'exotic' culinary cultures ;
(This does not means products sourced from very remote places, as our present product range and panel of partner shows !)
*
Tailor-made solutions well adapted to their marketing briefs and processing constraints.

Potentially any food company able to meet these criteria with well-defined culinary know-how or specific processes can target some segments of this promising market.
We are constantly enlarging our product range of domestic or foreign culinary ingredients and our panel of industrial partners. We will welcome any question or proposal related to this objective.
Fell free to contact us !

©   CULINARI  MUNDI  2007