Altho, maker of the prominent French potato chip brand Bret's, has invested in a new factory for its second production facility (located in the département de l'Ardèche), which will focus almost exclusively on private label savoury snacks.
Just eight months after opening in Pouzin, the firm will create an additional 60 jobs, with the €23 million investment. Following this, another €9 million will be pumped into the plant next year, which will generate another 40 jobs. It all means the Ardèche division's annual production will rise from 5,500 tonnes to 8,000 tonnes.
Its long-term ambition is to aggrandise the operation to the point where its output matches that of the firm's home plant in Brittany (22,000 tonnes per annum).
Part of the aim is to eat into the southern European market, particularly the market share of Italian private label products of its kind.
"We opened this factory to increase production capacity, with a growth of 4 or 5 per cent for the company per year, and to maximise the efficiency of our supply chain," said Altho CEO Laurent Cavard.
© 2014 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article written by Peter Donnelly
