Inaugurated in March 2021the Gallia factory in Sucy-en-Brie (Val-de-Marne) should close its doors by the end of March 2025. The site has 13 positions. “This closure project can be explained by two main factors: the inadequacy of the equipment and the intermediate size of the brewery in the face of developments in the beer market in recent years,” explains Heineken, its owner.
This site was imagined in parallel with the rise of Heineken’s stake in the capital of the Gallia brewery. The group entered the capital in 2019 before its complete acquisition of the company two years later. According to the plan communicated at the time, Gallia was to increase its production capacity from 8,000 hl, on its Pantin site (Seine-Saint-Denis), to 40,000 hl, thanks to this second location. The Sucy-en-Brie factory was then the largest brewery in Ile-de-France.
The bottle is no longer in the game
Heineken explain that the Sucy-en-Brie site was designed in 2018 in order to support the development of the Gallia brand in formats adapted for mass distribution, mainly around 33cl bottles. In recent years, “inflation and the decline in purchasing power” have encouraged consumers to turn more towards 50cl cans and 75cl bottles, specifies Heineken, which also indicates that “the majority” of volumes of Gallia are sold in cafés-hotels-restaurants, in barrels, which had not been anticipated. However, these formats cannot be produced on site.
Another justification provided by the beer giant is the unbridled growth in sales, with more than 50% annual increase in volumes over the last two years. “The brewery is today too small to produce the big Gallia references, but too large to dedicate itself to the production of small series of ephemeral beers. Today, the brewery is largely underutilized,” continues Heineken.
Certain volumes repatriated to Pantin
Since the acquisition of 100% of Gallia, Heineken has increased the spotlight on this brand, through numerous marketing investments, in displays or at festivals, for example. The volumes of the Sucy-en-Brie brewery should be distributed between other Heineken sites and partly return to Pantin, where Gallia has been installed since 2015with a production unit and a bar-restaurant. Heineken has also launched a search process for buyers for the Val-de-Marnaise factory.
Created as a start-up in 2009 by Jacques Ferté and Guillaume Roy, based on the name of a brewery which operated in Paris between 1890 and 1969, Gallia quickly saw its volumes increase in the segment. craft beer. The two entrepreneurs, who finally left Heineken in March 2023, remained in the food industry by creating Cherico, a chicory brand.
Source: www.usinenouvelle.com
