Balance within 2 or 3 years for the Poulaillon mineral water division

Our interview with Fabien Poulaillon, who runs the company with his sister Magali, took place in a very friendly atmosphere. Was present, his nephew, Jules Nesci, student at Essec, as well as the financial director, Thierry Mysliwiec. The Poulaillon family controls 76.4% of the capital of the company founded by the father, Paul, who took over the business of a neighborhood bakery and launched the famous Moricette in 1973, of which it sells today 100,000 copies per day.

Regarding sales to large retailers, Fabien Poulaillon tells us that there were two waves of increases in raw materials, before and after Ukraine. The first was well compensated by price increases. For the second, we had to go back to see the customers (Monoprix, the first, Leclerc, Système U, Intermarché, etc.) but the negotiations are also going very well. The attitude of large retailers has changed, because they need quality products offered by family businesses. Poulaillon products come from three in-house factories.

The B2C division represents two-thirds of sales. Half of the turnover comes from bakeries-restaurants with Drive and the balance from sandwich shops and other kiosks in stations.

Regarding the diversification center in the water sector, it should achieve 1.5 million euros this year. The breakeven point of 4 million could be reached in two to three years. The Velleminfroy spring, the only mineral water in Bourgogne Franche-Comté, had not been used since 1962 when it was bought in 2004 at an auction. It was necessary to invest a total of 7 million euros to obtain approval, the bottling line, not to mention the land to guarantee quality (the surface has increased from 2 to 12 hectares).

This year, the group’s turnover should exceed that of 2019. Franchise development seems promising, because it is capital-efficient, while debt is already around one times equity. For franchises, the entry fee is 40,000 euros, the cost of a cooking workshop is 350 to 600,000 euros and royalties are 5% of turnover.