Maude Duval, 18.03.2022
–
One year after the takeover of the Lancelot brewery by the Agrial cooperative, the “drinks” branch which brings together the brands Lancelot (beers), Kerisac (ciders) and Breizh Cola (soft) is in working order and mobilized to win new shares. Steps. To meet growing demand, the brewery and cider house are planning an investment and recruitment plan to double production and expand marketing outside Brittany.
–
The secular stones of the Villeder tin mine are reflected on the stainless steel walls of the neighboring brewing tanks. The decor is theatrical and the challenge of the Brasserie Lancelot, host of the place since 1990, just as masterful, since it is for this company in full expansion to “double its production capacity while keeping the area of the site and its historical and heritage character“, summarizes Laurent Guillet, director of the brand new Breton regional center of the “beverage” branch of the agricultural cooperative Agrial, which brings together the brands Lancelot, Breizh Cola and Kerisac. “The combination of these three brands is a strength for us which induces new synergies carrying ambitions and innovation.“, rejoices the new director of a triptych which has achieved a cumulative turnover of 34 million euros *.
An investment plan of 3 million euros
Bought by the Norman cooperative in January 2021, Brasserie Lancelot (which includes the manufacture of eponymous beers and soft drinks under the Breizh Cola brand) produced 65,000 hectoliters of beer in 2021 (soft drinks – 130,000 hectoliters in 2021- are produced at the Domagné site, in Ille-et-Vilaine). To meet growing demands, the only brewery plans to double its production and release 140,000 hectoliters per year from 2024.
An investment plan of more than 3 million euros has been undertaken to generate this capacity, with the installation of new tanks and a more efficient packaging line. “In 2022, we will go from 8 to 12 brewing tanks. We have also modernized our filtering system by installing a specialized machine which saves almost two hours on the manufacturing process. Finally, we installed a new, more efficient packaging line with automatic control and moved the storage site to Guégon, a few kilometers from the brewery.“, explains Marc Vaitilingom, master brewer and director for a year of the Lancelot brewery. Like an expert in the Tetris game, he is responsible for the delicate task of reorganizing, developing, optimizing and rationalizing the production chain in a constrained built space of some 7,000 m2.
Grow in the national market
Downstream, the sales force has also been beefed up. The team is made up of 13 people divided according to the GMS (7 commercial) and café-hotel-restaurant (6 commercial) markets. From the start, bistros have been the core business and distribution of Lancelot. “50 half Lancelots are drunk per minute and one in three bottles of Cola sold in Brittany is a Breizh Cola.“, specifies Yoann Emery, long-time sales representative of the Lancelot brewery, who has become GMS sales manager for regional Breton brands, beverage branch of the Agrial cooperative.
Until then confined to the Breton market alone, the commercial strategy intends to deploy its strengths and target two objectives : “honor 100% of Breton demand as a priority and develop on the national market, where demand is strong mainly in Ile de France and in regions where there is no regional cola”, explains Yoann Emery.
These ambitions are accompanied by a recruitment campaign: 15 new talents will join the brewery team by 2024. Today, 56 people work on the site of the Gold Mine at Roc Saint-André (56) and 38 others at the Kerisac cider factory created in 1920 in Guenrouët (44).
*In 2021, Lancelot Brewery achieved 14 million euros in turnover, the brand Breizh Cola 10 million and the cidrerie Kerisac 10 millions.
WATER SAVING: Brasserie Lancelot selected in the Ecod’o program
After a first satisfactory experiment, the Ecod’o program which aims to identify the levers for saving water in industrial and tourism companies, was renewed in Mobihan. Led by the CCI of Morbihan, Ecod’o 2 will be deployed until April 2022.
The Lancelot Brewery has among the 30 companies benefiting from a free diagnosis. The company consumes a lot of water: “The manufacturing process of 1 liter of beer requires the consumption of 3.5 liters of water to reject 2.5 liters“, explains Marc Vaitilingom, master brewer and director for a year of the Lancelot brewery.
The objective of the Ecod’o diagnosis is to recover rejected or used water in order to reinject it into the factory process. “The company has its own wastewater treatment plant. We are studying the possibility of reusing treated wastewater (REUT). Working on this subject with the CCI and the State services also makes it possible to scrutinize the regulations and their blockages“, specifies the master brewer, enthusiastic on the subject.
–
