Verbau Group – the rise of a Belgian family company

Founded in 2010, the Belgian group had the bright idea to reinvent every day desserts and puddings through quality and know-how, customisation and food safety.

The company expanded rapidly into international retail brands boosted by its flagship brand, Delici. The group is now present throughout Europe and in North America, Australia and Asia.

Since 2018, Verbau has produced its own jams and biscuits. The company has developed a wide range of fresh and frozen desserts under its own brand and under retail brands, franchise and licence.

In 10 years, Verbau has broadened its horizons and is now deploying three key production areas to France:

• Jam and preserves
• Biscuits
• Cooked desserts

A thriving SME 

The Belgian market leader in frozen and refrigerated desserts is harnessing its rapid growth. Now the company has announced its first production site in France to boost development and capitalise on the “Made In France” label, while continuing to conquer the French and European markets. The move is part of the company’s strategy to rationalise its industrial organisation.

The group selected the PANAVI building at Estrées Deniécourt, a prime location in the Haute-Picardie business park, only an hour’s drive from its Belgian operations.

Biscuit and jam production will be set up in May, with cooked desserts launching in July.

The advantages of Hauts-de-France for French production

Ideally located with direct access to the A1 motorway, Verbau’s first French production plant is an hour’s drive to its operations hub and head office at Leuze-En-Hainaut in Belgium. The PANAVI building will enable optimal distribution logistics across Europe.

The agrifood site is perfectly suited to Verbau’s requirements in terms of production, storage and infrastructure.

In addition, the company selected the Péronne area for several key reasons:

• Opportunity to continue growing in a fully-equipped building well-suited to production needs
• Proximity to key motorway junctions, providing quick access to its Belgian production site
• Ramping up commercial development in France from this production site

The project represents a total investment of €7 million in real estate, infrastructure works, and various equipment and installations. By 2025, 60 jobs will have been created.

Public stakeholders supporting the project

The Hauts-de-France region,  Agro‐Sphères, the Hauts-de-France agrifood industry association, the Somme departmental council, the Communauté de Commune Terre de Picardie and Nord France Invest, the economic development agency, provided support for the Verbau group in various ways:

• Identifying the ideal premises
• Site visits
• Guidance through administrative and technical red tape
• Recruitment support with the French employment services, Pôle Emploi, the Maison de l’emploi and the Regional Council’s Proch’Emploi
• Harnessing relocation subsidies

“Our decision to set up production in Hauts-de-France represents a key stage in our proactive expansion strategy in France and our target global markets. On top of Hauts-de-France’s undeniable assets in terms of infrastructure, logistics and recruitment, the support we received from Nord France Invest, Agro-sphères, and key public stakeholders, including the  Communauté de Communes Terres de Picardie, the Somme Department, the Hauts-de-France region and the state through the Péronne sub-prefecture was a real driver in making our project a success.” Thomas Belle, Managing Director, Verbau France