Bonduelle is a French company producing processed vegetables.

History

* The company was founded in 1853, when Louis Bonduelle-Dalle (23 October 1802 - 13 November 1880) and Louis Lesaffre-Roussel (1802–1869) established a grain and juniper berry distillery in

Marquette-lez-Lille Marquette-lez-Lille (, literally ''Marquette near Lille''; Dutch: ''Market(t)e'') is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Population Monuments * Grands Moulins de Paris Her ...

. On June 17, 1862, they expanded to a farm in

Renescure Renescure (; nl, Ruisscheure) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Renescure is the village where Bonduelle S.A. opened its first cannery. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of th ...

, which they turned into a grain alcohol distillery. * 1901 the company and its seven production sites were divided into three family owned companies: Bonduelle, Lesaffre and Lemaître. * 1926 the business began canning peas. Demand in the 1930s enabled the company to expand, but the firm's operations were suspended in 1940 through the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. * The mid 1960s, the company began to improve its exports, and in 1968, began freezing vegetables. Several European subsidiaries were launched: in Germany in 1969, in Italy in 1972 and in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1973. By 1973, exports accounted for half of the company's turnover. * 1980, Bonduelle acquired Belgian canned food company, Marie Thumas, and purchased Cassegrain in 1989. * The company continued to grow internationally, adding subsidiaries in Brazil in 1994 and in Argentina in 1996. * 1997, the company entered the "fresh processed" business with the acquisition of Salade Minute. * 2004, Bonduelle Group created the Louis Bonduelle Foundation, which aims to promote the public usefulness of vegetables by putting the benefits of vegetables to the public good. * 2007, Bonduelle completed its acquisition of

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

firm Aliments Carrière (Arctic Gardens brand), a leader in vegetables and frozen foods, which enabled gave it access to 39,500 hectares of farmland. * 2010, Bonduelle bought France Champignon, a leading European mushroom company. * 2011, Bonduelle inaugurated the San Paolo d’Argon plant in Italy, the largest packaged green salad production site. Bonduelle took over the Kelet Food assets in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

and the Cecab Group assets in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, Bonduelle bought 3 frozen food plants and a packaging site from the Allens Group. * 2017, Bonduelle acquired Ready Pac Foods, an American based manufacturer of food products featuring fresh produce. * April 2018, the company announced Guillaume Debrosse as the new CEO.

Brands

* Bonduelle (France, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Poland, Hungary) * Cassegrain (France) * Globus (ex-CEI) * Arctic Gardens (Canada) * Del Monte (Canada) (processed fruit and vegetables only) * Ready Pac Foods (US)

Financial data

* 9,569 full-time equivalent employees in 2013/2014 * 48 industrial sites * 100,000 hectares cultivated by 3,440 farmers under contract. * Canned goods make up 51% of turnover, fresh vegetables (including the line of ready-to-eat products)account for 22% and frozen foods account for the remaining 27% of the company's sales turnover.

Stock market data

* Shares traded on the Paris Stock Exchange * Member of the CAC Mid & Small, CAC All Shares, CAC All Tradable * ISIN code = FR0000063935 * Face value = Euro * Shareholder breakdown: ** General partners 27.63% ** Others members of Bonduelle family 24.75% ** Public 38.80% ** Employees and treasury shares 8.81%

Governance

The following served as officers of the company: * Chief Executive Officer: Guillaume Debrosse * Non-Executive Chairman: Christophe Bonduelle * Director, Bonduelle Development: Benoît Bonduelle * Director of External Relations and Sustainable Development: Jean-Bernard Bonduelle * Human Resources Director: Bruno Rauwel * Administrative and Financial Director: Grégory Sanson * Director, Bonduelle Long Life Europe : Philippe Carreau * Director, Bonduelle Americas: Daniel Vielfaure * Director, Bonduelle Fresh Europe: Pascal Bredeloux

References

External links

Homepage of Bonduelle group

Bonduelle Youtube Channel

Louis Bonduelle Foundation
{{Authority control Food product brands Food and drink companies of France French brands Villeneuve-d'Ascq Companies based in Hauts-de-France Food and drink companies established in 1853 1853 establishments in France Companies listed on Euronext Paris