Modernisation of the Belleville-sur-Vie dairy: Agrial is continuing its investment strategy at the heart of local regions to enhance the value of its farmer members’ milk.

Agrial’s Dairy division markets butter under the brands Grand Fermage, La Viette, and La Conviette, as well as under private labels for supermarkets, industrial clients, and the food service sector, both in France and internationally. The modernisation and automation works at the site have increased production capacity for flagship products, such as the sea salt crystal butter from Noirmoutier, for which Grand Fermage is the market leader in French retail. These improvements also enable the dairy to specialise in high value-added butters, targeting growing markets such as PDO butter and laminated butter for bakery and pastry professionals, as well as for industry. Charentes-Poitou PDO butter enjoys a strong reputation internationally, as demonstrated by the La Conviette brand, already iconic in South Korea, where a Maison La Conviette boutique has recently opened in Seoul.

Significant investments have enabled the modernisation of the site, focusing primarily on production lines, processes, energy systems, infrastructure, and staff facilities. The new laminated butter workshop now offers a high level of quality to professionals seeking consistent functional properties in butter throughout the year. Laminated butter is available in 2kg slab format and in 5kg, 10kg, or 25kg cubes, under the brands Grand Fermage, La Viette, and La Conviette, depending on whether it is conventional or PDO butter, sold in France or internationally. The new equipment also improves the site’s sustainable performance in terms of water, energy, and packaging. These investments were co-financed by Europe and the Pays de la Loire French Region.

The 150 employees of the Belleville-sur-Vie dairy were involved from the start of the works, facilitating the adoption of the new installations. These upgrades have also led to the creation of new positions, with one maintenance technician role and two line operator roles still to be filled.