Posting 30% growth, the distributor of Asian products T & T Foods has a new site – Le Journal des Entreprises
“We are cramped in our premises in Guewenheim (2,500 m²) and we currently operate with five different storage sites, which is a logistical headache”, explains Xen Trieu, CEO of T&T Foods. To improve efficiency, the company specializing in the import and distribution of Asian food products (drinks, canned food, fresh produce, etc.) is investing 12 million euros in the construction of a new site. Located in the Diefmatten (Haut-Rhin) inter-municipal activity zone, it should be operational next July.
A turnover increasing by 30% per year
“It was important for us to stay in Alsace because we have our entire ecosystem there, in particular our logistics network. 40% covered with photovoltaic panels, the building will consist of 12,600 m² of warehouses and 900 m² of offices on a area of seven hectares”, explains the manager. It will enable the SME to accommodate 19,000 pallets, instead of the current 3,000. T & T Foods will initially occupy 80% of the space. “We thus have a land reserve which will allow us, in two or three years, to expand. We have been showing strong growth for several years”, explains Xen Trieu. The turnover of T & T Foods has been growing by around 30% per year for several years. It was 42 million in 2021, 56.5 million in 2022 and 67 million are in the sights for this year.
Three markets
Founded in 2002, the SME whose shareholders are Xen Trieu, Khiem Thanh Nhat and a Dutch group active in the food industry, Heuschen & Schrouff Oriental Foods, since 2019, is positioned in three markets. It markets its products, under various brands (Thai Expert, Ong Xen, Oishiya, etc.), via a whole network of restaurants and shops specializing in Asian products as well as to large retail chains, throughout France. “In the direction of the latter, we have also developed a private label (private label) activity. Based on specifications, we work with various partner factories to manufacture the product and we take care of the entire process, packaging as well as labeling”, explains the manager who confides that he has supplier partners throughout Asia, in Cambodia as in Vietnam, in Indonesia as in South Korea. The company displays various quality labels such as Ecocert and IFS Broker. It also distributes Fairtrade Original, which guarantees consumers that growers and producers receive fair remuneration and have good working conditions.
T&T Foods employs 76 full-time equivalent people. A team that will quickly grow. “We are currently recruiting about twenty employees, particularly in trades related to logistics”, concludes Xen Trieu.
