Vanilla Bridge wants to strengthen itself commercially – Le Journal des Entreprises – Maine-et-Loire

Created in December 2018, the Angevin company Vanilla Bridge manufactures around three tonnes of vanilla extracts per year, marketed mainly to catering and agri-food professionals. Its founder and leader, Noéline Rasoamandrary, was recently selected to be part of the 5^e edition of the Orange Women Entrepreneurs program. She intends to take advantage of this support to accelerate from now on on the commercial level. The turnover of the young company of currently three people reached 500,000 euros in 2020, the best year since its creation. It has since fallen slightly but Noéline Rasoamandrary now intends to take a new step.

After training as a researcher in Shanghai and at the École Supérieure des Agricultures d’Angers (ESA), the entrepreneur developed her own vanilla extraction method, from nearly 500 kilos of raw material. grown and packaged in Madagascar, the world’s leading exporting country. “The manufacturing secret lies in the extraction recipe made with beet alcohol, she explains. There is also a strong demand in France for an extract made without alcohol and I already have a second formula. which goes in this direction.”

Professional clientele

Based in Angers, Vanilla Bridge packages its extracts according to demand and the specific requirements of its customers. It also markets vanilla pods and powder, with extraction residues. She also works for restaurants, artisan cooks, pastry chefs, food companies or bulk product stores. She completes her activity with an online store, a sale at the workshop and in various fairs. “Individuals only represent 3 to 5% of turnover, specifies Noéline Rasoamandrary, but it is a way for us to communicate and make ourselves known. Currently, 95% of our customers are in France but we also ship for a few professionals in Switzerland and Eastern Europe.” The customer portfolio is gradually developing in France and, more locally, the company, which has been supported by Angers Technopole and the ESA incubator, among others, works with several professionals, including the liqueur manufacturer Giffard.

processing workshop

Upstream of the production chain, the manager, herself of Malagasy origin, works with producers in the east of Madagascar, and wishes to develop a real sector there. “We work with a local company which coordinates the work of producers and ensures the export of vanilla. The objective is to set up a workshop there so that they can process the product and thus reduce the number intermediaries, supports Noéline Rasoamandrary. In Madagascar, vanilla supports around 100,000 families and it is also this story that we sell to our customers, in addition to the quality that we want to bring to our products.”