The French family company Bonduelle have made a name for themselves on the German market with tinned vegetables. When one asks somebody what is Bonduelle the answer will be "Bonduelle are the famous tinned vegetables." This slogan and the television advertising of Bonduelle in the form of funny cartoons from the 70's are clearly being remembered by people."Although our name does not sound very German we are viewed as a local brand. This is an essential factor for us. Bonduelle, present on the German market since 1969 is without doubt the leader of the tinned vegetables with a market share of 40%. Total sales of the tinned vegetables of Bonduelle are almost 60% of their annual turnover, which amounts to 200 million Euro. The deep-freeze products and fresh salads are both contributing about 40 million Euro.
A success story like this of a French company in Germany is just about unheard of. The success of Bonduelle comes in the first place because the group was present on the German market early. At the end of the 80's the German mark was of higher value than the French franc, which gave the group a certain advantage. In addition the French agriculture was more profitable than the German (BDR) at that time.
"The French bean field had an average area of 20HA, ours only 2HA. Also the French production units were clearly bigger. As a result Bonduelle was immediately in a position to spread over the entire country by supplying whole pallets to the hypermarkets, which only just appeared in our country," director of Bonduelle Germany, Rolf Darius, remembers.
The family group of Bonduelle has made Germany aware of new products, such as extra fine peas and the mix of peas and carrots. Often the recipes have been adjusted to the local taste. "For instance the juice of our peas is less sweet than in France," Darius says. "Of the 120 vegetables in tins sold here by us only 4 or 5 are the same as in France."
The present director of Bonduelle Germany says that Hartwig Burger, a young German without a diploma played an important role at the time in capturing the German market. A French person does not have the same feeling as somebody, who is from that country. This trust appeared to be of great importance. "It was Hartwig Burger, who persuaded us to use funny cartoons for this publicity. In France this would never work, but in Germany this was an immediate success."
Today Bonduelle employ 9,650 people in 18 countries. From 1970 to 1990 Germany contributed 30% to the total sales of Bonduelle. Today as a result of further international developments this is 12%. "Germany, however, remains important for us. Few French companies have been as successful as we are. It is a good story warming my heart when I think of it" as per Christophe Bonduelle.
