French potato chip company Altho Brets will invest EUR 100 million in its second factory

The Breton chips maker, which markets its Brets brand in particular, announced about its investment EUR 100 million (USD 107.7 million) in its new factory project on its historic Pontivy site. This new site, which will open at the end of 2025, will increase its potato chip production capacity by 15,000 tonnes per year.

The new tool will be automated both in terms of production and logistics. This increase in capacity will make it possible to meet the growing demand from the French market for chips (+4.4% in 2022).

150 New Partnerships

Altho remains on the same positioning: offering chips produced in France, based on a local supply chain of 100% French potatoes. Altho Brets indicates that it works with 200 Breton partner farmers and aims to create 150 new agricultural partnerships for its second factory.

The creation of the new site will also be accompanied by a modernization of the existing site, created in 1995, which has 336 employees. 40 jobs should be created by 2030.

Methanization and Water Saving

Note that the project includes investments to reduce the site's water consumption. Today, its efforts allow it to consider going under 2.1 liters of water per kg of potatoes compared to 3 liters in 2021.

Furthermore, the bio-waste from the two sites will be recycled by the methanization tool of the Sober company (a subsidiary of the family group) to produce bio-gas and digestate used as a natural soil amendment by farmers.

Altho Brets is a subsidiary of the AGH holding company belonging to entrepreneur Alain Glon. It had a turnover of EUR 206 million (USD 221 million) in 2022. It has another factory (60 employees) in Pouzin (07) opened in 2014.