Alpro is a European company based in

Wevelgem Wevelgem () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Gullegem, Moorsele and Wevelgem proper. On January 1, 2006, Wevelgem had a total population of 31,020. The total area is 38 ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, that markets organic and non-organic, non-genetically modified, plant-based products, such as foods and drinks made from

soy The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu and ...

almonds The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

hazelnuts The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus ''Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according ...

cashew The cashew tree (''Anacardium occidentale'') is a tropical evergreen tree native to South America in the genus ''Anacardium'' that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tall as , but the dwarf cul ...

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

oats The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human co ...

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...

. Alpro employs over 1,200 people in Europe and has three production facilities in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. Alpro markets its products in Europe and beyond with the majority of its business in Europe.

History

Alpro was founded in 1980, as a subsidiary of the Vandemoortele Groep, which is based in Belgium. Alpro expanded across Europe and in 2000 built a

soy milk Soy milk (simplified Chinese: 豆浆; traditional Chinese: 豆漿) also known as soya milk or soymilk, is a plant-based drink produced by soaking and grinding soybeans, boiling the mixture, and filtering out remaining particulates. It is a sta ...

plant in

Burton Latimer Burton, Burtons, or Burton's may refer to: Companies * Burton (retailer), a clothing retailer **Burton's, Abergavenny, a shop built for the company in 1937 **The Montague Burton Building, Dublin a shop built for the company between 1929 and ...

, England. In 2008 Alpro launched the UK's first "reduced calorie soya alternative to yogurt" following the introduction of its Soy Light "reduced calorie soya milk" in 2006. Alpro's revenues are reported to have tripled during the period from 2000 to 2008. In 2009, beverages made up two-thirds of Alpro's revenues. In June 2009 Vandemoortele sold Alpro for an estimated US$455 million to

Dean Foods Dean Foods was an American food and beverage company and the largest dairy company in the United States. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company maintained plants and distributors in the United States. Dean Foods had 66 manufacturing faciliti ...

,Alpro website press communique which marketed the "

Silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from th ...

" soy milk brand in the USA. In June 2013, WhiteWave, the Dean Foods subsidiary that managed Alpro, was spun-off as an independent company - listing on the New York Stock Exchange. In July 2013 Dean Foods sold their remaining 19.9% stake in WhiteWave, thus ending their involvement with Alpro. In July 2016 it was announced that the French company

Danone Danone S.A. () is a French multinational food-products corporation based in Paris. It was founded in Barcelona, Spain. It is listed on Euronext Paris where it is a component of the CAC 40 stock market index. Some of the company's products are ...

would purchase WhiteWave Foods for $10.4 billion. The acquisition was completed in April 2017 and newly formed company is named "DanoneWave". In 2020, Alpro's ''No Sugars'' oatmilk won the Lausanne Index Prize - Supreme Award, a processed food prize. Alpro's General manager is Sue Garfitt.

Products

Alpro distributes soya based vegan products under the brands ''Belsoy'', ''Alpro Soya'' and ''Provamel''. Products include

soya milk Soya may refer to: Food * Soya bean, or soybean, a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean * Soya sauce, see soy sauce, a fermented sauce made from soybeans, roasted grain, water and salt Places * Sōya District, ...

soy yogurt Soy yogurt, also referred to as soya yogurt, soygurt or yofu (a portmanteau of yogurt and tofu), is a yogurt-like product made with soy milk. Composition Soy yogurt may have a slight beany soy taste when made directly from freshly prepare ...

, soya cream and soya based desserts, plant-based margarines and plant-based ice cream. All products are made from either non-GM soya,

. The Provamel brand is reserved exclusively for

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

products (including many organic versions of Alpro Soya products), which are intended for sale only by independent health food retailers. Alpro soya milk scored best (out of 16 tested different plain soy milks), when rated by Germany's leading consumer safety group

Stiftung Warentest Stiftung Warentest is a German consumer organisation and foundation involved in investigating and comparing goods and services in an unbiased way. It was founded on 4 December 1964 by the Federal Republic of Germany as an independent foundation ...

. Other Alpro products include yogurt as well as "dessert and

meat alternative A meat alternative or meat substitute (also called plant-based meat or fake meat, sometimes pejoratively) is a food product made from vegetarian or vegan ingredients, eaten as a replacement for meat. Meat alternatives typically approximate qua ...

products".

Marketing activities

To demonstrate Alpro's milk and yogurt alternatives, a year-long experiential marketing campaign gave consumers in the UK the opportunity to sample the breakfast menu products at various events and

shopping centres A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...

around the country. Alpro also encouraged visitors to have their photo taken at the internet pod on the stand and upload it to

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...

, thereby joining the Alpro Soya Facebook page.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Food and drink companies of Belgium Vegetarian companies and establishments Soy product brands Non-dairy yogurts Food and drink companies established in 1980 Belgian companies established in 1980 Veganism Vegan brands Groupe Danone brands

History

Products

Marketing activities

See also

References

External links