La Rose Noire reaps sweet gains in Chinese market

Bakery chain La Rose Noire made its return to the Chinese market inspired by the country's booming frozen pastry industry after the nation optimized its COVID-19 control measures, according to the company's senior executives.

As the subsidiary of the global food group Savencia Fromage & Dairy in China, Sinodis partnered with La Rose Noire to reintroduce its products into the Chinese market in April after the brand previously developed in the local market from 2003 to 2016.

The brand was shunned from the Chinese market in 2016 but is back in China with a different understanding and approach.

"The bakery and pastry industry in China has changed dramatically in the last four years and COVID has accelerated this transition," said Denis Vergneau, general manager of Sinodis.

Vergneau discovered an increasing demand during COVID-19 among consumers for chocolate and cream, both basic ingredients used in La Rose Noire's products. This inspired the first batch of products launched in seven categories — tarts, baskets, ice cream cones, chocolates, macarons, bread and Danish pastries.

However, demand in the frozen pastry market during the pandemic is what truly caught their attention.

"In recent years, we have seen the rapid development and enormous potential of the frozen pastry market in China, as well as the demand for semi-finished and finished high-end frozen pastry products in the industry," said Gerard Dubois, founder, and chairman of La Rose Noire.

According to a research report about the country's bakery industry released by Dongguan Securities in February, the market size of China's bakery industry has steadily increased, especially the frozen pastry market, which increased from 500 million yuan ($72.6 million) in 2008 to 11.1 billion yuan in 2021.

"This time, by partnering with Sinodis, we believe that through diverse sales channels, we can bring La Rose Noire's rich and high-quality products to our customers and jointly contribute to the long-term development of the healthy bakery industry," Dubois said.

In 1991, Dubois opened the first La Rose Noire Patisserie in Hong Kong with a 30-seat restaurant and cake shop. It later grew into a dessert supplier of over 700 bakeries, with pastry and chocolate products distributed in five continents over 57 countries and regions.

In addition, La Rose Noire said it places great importance on sustainability and social responsibility.

The brand has developed its signature product, a single-origin 69 percent dark chocolate, in Davao, a 100-year-old traditional cocoa-growing region in the Philippines, to support local farmers and communities.

"Instead of buying cocoa from Ghana or Africa, we decided to build the factory and grow cocoa in the Philippines and allow local farmers obtain skills as well as make money," Dubois explains.

Furthermore, La Rose Noire has designed and developed biodegradable trays and green packaging to better protect the natural environment.

"In order to have a positive environmental impact, we have launched the LRN CARES program, replacing all our packaging with 100 percent biodegradable alternatives and covering our rooftops with solar panels," Dubois added.

"In 2016, we created the La Rose Noire Foundation, including sponsoring schools, community projects and our very own vocational training center, achieving Level One, Two and Three accreditations as a Center of Excellence, in community-based social welfare services," he added.

Dubois says they would like to penetrate deeper into the vast Chinese market.

"We like to go to the second-tier cities in China and to keep exploring more opportunities in China," Dubois said.

According to Vergneau, fusing local flavors into Western pastries is an exciting new trend: "More Chinese ingredients are used in traditional Western pastries and Chinese pastries use more Western ingredients, displaying a mix of cultures in the pastry market."