French agrifood has, since Thursday, April 20, a new king. Lactalis, the global milk giant and family business since its creation in 1933, announced that it exceeded 28 billion euros in turnover in 2022, thus dethroning Danone, which generated 27.7 billion euros.
The group behind President camemberts, Galbani mozzarella, Leerdammer cheese with holes or even Parmalat milk, thus joins the world’s top 10 in the food industry. Danone therefore passes eleventh in this ranking, still dominated by Nestlé and its 95 billion euros in turnover.
In 2022, Lactalis transformed 22.6 billion liters of milk into cheese, yogurt, butter, cream… And its turnover has increased more than fivefold since 2000, the year when Emmanuel Besnier, André’s grandson , took control. More than 100 companies have been acquired in this interval, mainly by bank loans (6.45 billion net debt in 2022).
Its family model (Emmanuel Besnier’s brother and sister are on the supervisory board, without a public role) has the merit of registering Lactalis “in a slightly longer time, with greater consistency, and also sometimes more responsiveness” compared to competitors, Emmanuel Besnier said at a press conference in Parma.
Lactalis’ business grew strongly last year (28.4%) to 28.3 billion euros, driven by the increase in the selling price of its products, but also inflated by its recent acquisitions, in particular some of the Kraft brand cheeses (excluding Philadelphia), popular in North America, and Leerdammer.
Lactalis has 270 production sites in 51 countries and 85,000 employees. Its products are marketed in 150 countries.
Within the group, there are largely automated industrial cathedrals, dedicated to the manufacture of everyday consumer products, and more artisanal chapels, where cheeses with a designation of origin are produced (roquefort, camembert de Normandie, parmigiano reggiano, etc.) .
The packaging does not bear any mention of Lactalis, making it difficult for consumers to establish a connection with a group long known for its culture of secrecy. The Besnier family themselves say they are attached to the precept of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul: “Good does not make noise, noise does not do good. »
But criticism of Lactalis’ opacity reached its peak in 2017-2018, during the chaotic management of the infant milk crisis – dozens of infants had been infected with salmonellosis in France. Lactalis was recently indicted in this case.
The group now opens up more, by showing its factories to journalists or by holding a stand at the Agricultural Show.
Relations with the agricultural world, which has long criticized Lactalis for not paying enough for milk, have calmed down in France. Emmanuel Besnier was even present at the end of March at the evening in tribute to the former president of the majority union in the sector, the FNSEA, Christiane Lambert.