For Carambar, the year 2024 had a special taste: that of 70 years. The candy from Lille and available in multiple flavors was passed from shareholder to shareholder. Born in 1954 of a mixture of caramel and cocoa, in the Lille factory of the Delespaul-Havez company, founded in 1848, Carambar was bought in 1965 by Générale Alimentaire, one of the first French brand conglomerates with Amora sauces and Bordeau Chesnel rillettes in its portfolio.
In the hands of Danone
La Générale Occidentale, by Franco-British billionaire Jimmy Goldsmith, took control in 1972, recalls business historian Jean Watin-Augouard, in “La revue des marques”, publication of Ilec, voice of major brands .
Then it was Boussois-Souchon-Neuvesel (BSN) – which later became Danone – which got its hands on the little chewy candy in 1980.
Carambar leaves
The following buyers are foreign: the British Cadbury Schweppes added Carambar, Menthe Claire, Michoko and Pimousse in 1998 to its portfolio of brands also including Oasis drinks, before being in turn swallowed up in 2010 by the American giant Kraft Foods.
Renamed Mondelez International since 2013, the latter now produces a number of references well known to consumers, under the brands LU, Milka, Belin or Côte d'Or.
Last stage of Carambar's world tour in May 2017, with the takeover by the French investment company Eurazeo. The general director of the fund at the time, Virginie Morgon, then spoke of “magnificent brands with underdeveloped potential”. The fund's strategy is to buy companies and combine them with other assets to create a new entity, which can be sold after a certain period, on average between five and seven years, generating a capital gain. .
Since 2017, to improve the financial situation of the company, in 2018 Eurazeo brought together the number 2 candy maker in France (far behind Haribo) with the number 3, Lutti (Arlequin), relocated its production to France, and closed in 2021 the historic Carambar factory, located rue de la chocolaterie in Marcq-en-Baroeul.
The mayor of the northern city, Bernard Gérard, recalls the “real attachment of the inhabitants” to the brand, and the organization each spring of a “Carambar launch”. But it is now in the Lutti factory in Bondues, 7 kilometers further north, that the candies are produced, famous for their schoolboy jokes printed on the packaging.
Four production sites in France
Carambar&Co now has around 900 employees, 400 million euros in annual turnover – compared to 280 million euros in 2017 -, four production sites in France, three for sweets (Bondues, Saint-Genest-d' Ambière in Vienne and Vichy) and one of chocolates, in Strasbourg. He has just sold the historic factory of the Poulain chocolatier, located near Blois in Loir-et-Cher, to the Andros family business.
Asked about the possibility of a resale mentioned at the end of November by the economic media L'Informé, Hélène Riboulleau, marketing and R&D director of Carambar&Co, indicated that she “does not wish to comment on a rumor” and referred to Eurazeo, which did not wanted to express themselves.
Two world tours in one year
On the other hand, she underlined the dynamism of the candy market, which “will soon reach one billion euros in France with an increase in volumes sold”. In 2017, it was 700 million euros, she recalls, observing that it is a “pleasure market where quality takes precedence”, and where brands resist the pressure of branded products. distributors.
Asked about the closure of the historic factory, she explained that the company had made the “choice to bring two industrial sites closer together to concentrate investments there and ensure that it had an efficient site”.
She also recalled that we “eat 2,000 Carambar every minute in France”, and that “put together the number of Carambar produced” each year, “82,000 km, allows you to make two trips around the world”.
