Bonduelle’s Managing Director Departs Amidst US Market Struggles

Change of captain at Bonduelle. The vegetable group announces the departure, “by mutual agreement”, of its managing director, Guillaume Debrosse in office since April 2018, “after having worked successively on the fresh markets in France and then on the canned and frozen foods internationally”.

The US market and its complexities cost Guillaume Debrosse his position as general manager. The board of directors considered that the growth of the activity in the United States was “not fast enough” and that the group now needed a manager rich “with strong experience of the North American market and the high consumption products “.

The United States has taken on considerable importance in Bonduelle’s business over the past few years. They have become the group’s leading market ahead of France. Over the 2021-2022 financial year, sales in the United States represented 34% of the group’s total turnover (2.2 billion euros), while France only totaled 23%. Bonduelle now makes more than half (53%) of its turnover outside Europe.

A weighty America

During the past financial year, the group saw its operating profit fall by 3.7% and its profit plunge by 38%, in part due to the difficulties of ready-to-use fresh products across the Atlantic. The “Fresh Americas” division had to deal with lower volumes in a sluggish market marked by inflation. The turnover of this division alone had fallen by 25%. Recovery measures had been taken, including 200 layoffs.

Christophe Bonduelle, Chairman of the Board of Directors, “thanks Guillaume Debrosse for his professionalism and his commitment to the group during the sixteen years he spent with the group”. The Board of Directors is convinced that “Bonduelle needs a new lease of life given the demanding context in which it operates”.

Obviously, Guillaume Desbrosse’s successor has already been chosen. “His identity will be announced in the coming weeks,” the company said. “He has a great knowledge of the United States market where he held general management positions for more than 20 years, within several groups in the agri-food sector”. He will take office on June 1.

In the meantime, general management will be provided by Christophe Bonduelle with Guillaume Debrosse during this transition period.