Family-owned Italian food company Rigoni di Asiago has acquired French chocolatier Saveurs & Nature. A pioneer in organic foods, Rigoni di Asiago is the parent company of confectionery brands Nocciolata, Fiordifrutta and Mielbio.
Saveurs & Nature was founded by Jean Michel Mortreau in 2001. Together with his wife Valerie, Mortreau had successfully owned and operated Resto’Bio, one of the first organic restaurants recognised in France.
Mortreau made chocolates as treats for their customers but they proved so popular that the couple gave up the restaurant to focus just on chocolates, with an emphasis on organic products, natural ingredients and sustainability. Today, Saveurs & Nature has 70 employees including 32 Maitres Chocolatiers.
Saveurs & Nature’s travel retail-exclusive Les Chocolats de Pauline brand has been steadily expanding its footprint in the channel, following the appointment of long-time Valrhona executive Eric Carlier as Travel Retail Director in 2021.
Les Chocolats de Pauline is named after Mortreau’s daughter. It was launched five years ago as a dedicated product for Air France Business Class passengers and has since built listings in France through Lagardère Travel Retail.
Mortreau and Carlier featured in a major interview with The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie last year, which explored the passions and principles behind Saveurs & Nature.
Rigoni di Asiago plans to strengthen Saveurs & Nature’s position in France and globally through specialised distribution networks. It also plans to leverage both companies’ respective strengths to accelerate innovation.
Commenting on the acquisition, Rigoni di Asiago CEO Andrea Rigoni said: “When I met Jean-Michel Mortreau, I was struck by the similarity of our entrepreneurial backgrounds and the points in common between Saveurs & Nature’s DNA and our way of see things. Both of us are aimed of the desire to create a better world by offering organic products good for our consumers and for the planet.”
Mortreau added, “The sale of our company was a long-standing decision and we chose to do it in the interests of the company and its employees.
“I had very clear ideas and my wish was to pass on my business to a family that shared our values and already had deep experience in organic farming. My meeting with Andrea Rigoni was decisive in terms of sharing values and vision. In addition, I discovered a company whose size and complementary nature of products and skills offer exciting prospects for the Saveurs & Nature team.”
Rigoni added, “We want to build a strong and collaborative relationship with the Saveurs & Nature team to create a family working environment, just as we did at Rigoni di Asiago. Together, we look forward to a future of innovation.”
Note: The Moodie Davitt Report’s portfolio of titles included Confectionery Curated, published in association with Mondelez. It offers a regular selection of stories focused on the key confectionery category in travel retail and beyond.
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