The Brioche Pasquier story began in 1936 when Gabriel Pasquier began baking Brioche, Pâtisserie and Biscotte in Les Cerqueux, a small village in the west of France. After Gabriel died in the 1970s, his five sons continued to bake the traditional French brioche. But they also sold the product to supermarkets packaged in a wrapper, a radical idea for the time. Today, Brioche Pasquier is the number one brioche brand, employing over 3,000 people worldwide.
Charlotte Hulbert, Sales Manager, Brioche Pasquier tells Grocery Trader how the brand has grown sales during lockdown and about the company’s plans for the near future.
How would you sum up Brioche Pasquier’s history?
Brioche Pasquier has been a traditional French family-run bakery since 1936, when Gabriel Pasquier opened his home bakery in the west of France. After decades, we retain the same core values that made Gabriel’s bakery so special. Our unique savoir-faire helps craft products that are versatile, quick to prepare and ready to serve. Whether it be delicious Brioche, delicate Pâtisserie or crunchy Biscotte, Brioche Pasquier takes pride in delivering high quality foods for every occasion.
Can you talk us through your brand portfolio?
Our Brioche Pasquier brand is sold in the UK Multiples and into the convenience and online sector. Our objective is to ensure that our products are available to all different segments and consumers of the market.
How is the brioche market developing?
We are finding that Brioche is becoming a staple element of our consumers’ shops. Our plain Brioche Rolls can be used as savoury or sweet snack or meal time solutions for breakfast, lunch and home baking. It allows our consumers to have that versatility to adapt to their daily life, whilst also offering a delightful treat or upgrade to their usual meal options.
Has Brioche Pasquier experienced a sales uplift during lockdown due to the popularity of the Big Night in occasion?
Brioche Pasquier has definitely seen an uplift in sales during lockdown, due to the increase of home cooking as our Brioche Rolls and Sliced Loaf make for a great ingredient in recipes like Tiramisu, Cheesecake or Banoffee Pies. On top of this, products like our indulgent Pains au Chocolat are used for a continental breakfast, or whilst our Brioche Rolls or Croissants are great for gourmet sandwiches.
How can grocers maximise sales of your products?
Merchandising our viennoiserie range in the sweet treats area by having us in a brand block and ensuring a good level of availability instore and online.
As our baked products are great for every occasion, store owners can take advantage of cross promotions in any season! Take our Brioche Rolls in Summer for instance, set them near the BBQ options such as the sausages and selection of condiment toppings. Or for the winter season, nothing is more tempting than having a smooth camembert next to our Brioche ready for dipping!
What marketing support do you have for your range this year?
We are delighted to announce that we will be linking up with the Minions in 2020 and there will be lots of on pack promotions and competitions running which will help to drive sales for independent retailers.
Do you have any NPD planned?
We have a few exciting options coming for 2021, these will expand our range further into breakfast, lunchtime, snacking and even desserts! So, watch this space for more news in the new year!
Comments are closed.