Strategic sectors

Food processing

Food processing: one of the national and regional flagship industries

Number 1 industrial sector in France

  • A major international position: the world’s leading exporter of processed food.
  • A country renowned for the quality of its gastronomy and products steeped in the traditions of their regions.
  • 13 food-processing or agrifood competitiveness clusters in France.
  • A very buoyant sector: myriad products – driven by the constant need to reinvent (flavour, presentation, processes, product positioning) – use of advanced technologies (processing, preservation, food safety).

The PACA region’s 2nd largest industrial sector

  • Around 800 food-processing plants employing 30 000 people – generating sales worth over €6 Bn including €1 Bn for export.
  • A thriving fruit and vegetable segment: Le Cabanon (canning), Campbell (soups), Soleco Florette (salads,... and many other heavyweights in a wide variety of sectors: ABC (meat curing), AGIS (convenience meals), BCS (industrial bakery):
  • With in the Signes Business Park:
  • Bio Gusto (distribution of organic food products), la Boutique Provençale (wholesale delicatessen), Coca-Cola Midi (beverages), Epicerie de Provence (gourmet delicatessen products), Oenopôle (offering analyses and advice to wine producers, agronomic advice, bottling and filtering services provided on estates), Quai Sud (gourmet delicatessen products),
  • Elsewhere in the Var:
  • Ferico (couscous), Fralib (tea), Gyma (sauces and condiments), Haribo Ricqles Zan (confectionery), Kerry ingrédients France (candied fruit), Malongo (coffee), Mc Cormick France (spices), Panzani and Pastacorp (pasta), Ricard SA (beverages), Rousselot (ingredients and additives, texturizers) ...
  • Specialised, highly effective conselling organisations; FRIAA product and company promotion – sector coordination, CRITT technological support, IFRIA training and human resources management.
  • The PEIFL competitiveness cluster – The European Fruit and Vegetables Innovation Cluster – www.peifl.org

The Var’s strengths

  • In the lead with several types of produce:
    • World’s number 1 producer of rosé wine.
    • Leading French producer of cut flowers, honey, truffles, figs and cork.
  • Two major agricultural segments: wine-growing and horticulture.
  • A wide variety of raw materials that have come to symbolise Provence:
    • From the land: wine, olive oil, figs, chestnuts, truffles ...
    • From the sea: fish, aquaculture and mussel farming.
  • One segment that is taking off: the production of spiruline+F56, a high-energy ingredient.
  • The importance of organic farming, in particular for organic grape-growing.
  • Industrial breadmaking (Var Pain of the Soufflet group, Nouvelles Boulangeries), convenience foods (Madern), mineral water (Source Beaupré at Signes), distilleries (Saint-Maximin Distillery, La Varoise at La Crau)…
© 2010 CCI du Var