Milling pulses for flour/
Vegedry & CIACAM launch joint venture in France

 How did Vegedry come to be?

I worked in Marseille for 30 years, 20 years in traditional milling and then 10 years in hospitality with Sysco, so I made a few contacts in my professional career. I met Alex and Illian Cherki, the two CEOs of CIACAM in November 2020 and they spoke to me about the idea of starting to mill pulse flours. The project is a co-entrerprise between CIACAM and Arterris, which is a cooperative of French farmers with about 25,000 members. There was already a strong client-supplier relationship between the two, CIACAM has been buying French chickpeas from Arterris for about 10 years. The idea of milling pulse flours came from them deciding to work together to create something new, and we started in March 2021. 

CIACAM deals with the factory side of things. They’re a family business that’s been working in pulses for 70 years. The market for French-grown pulses is becoming increasingly important and so via Arterris they have been able to develop this. So for me at Vegedry, CIACAM are the ones who supply the majority of my pulses, some of which come from Arterris and some of which come from other cooperatives. It’s been invaluable to have the knowledge and expertise of both of them on my side.


What was it that attracted you to this innovative new project?

I really wanted to come back to working with producers. After 10 years at Sysco, I had 3,500 suppliers, and I wanted to focus on one story, one supplier. Personally, I really believe in the plant-based market and working with pulses is a great avenue to follow. Plus, it’s not everyday that you’re offered such an exciting project and I’m really happy to be able to lead it! It’s going to be a great challenge; there’s lots to do and we’re basically starting right from the first page.


What’s it like working in the plant-based industry in a country as carnivorous as France?

Pulses have so many virtues: they are sustainable, nutritional and functional, but these properties are not well-known in France. Definitely in the Anglo-Saxon countries, or even Benelux, there’s an awareness of this type of product which is much more developed than in France and the market is much more mature. I had some doubts, especially since this is such a new and rather unknown market, but I have every confidence in it.


Who are your main customers and which markets are you targeting?

Basically, we have two main markets: the biggest is the wholesale food industry who will buy our flours to make into new products. The smaller portion of the market comprises the repackers who will sell them in small quantities to specialised shops or GMS. 

There are already some precursors in the market who are using pulse flours to make a variety of products, mainly pasta. Then there are some specialised products, like in Marseille we have something called panisse, which is fried dough made from water and chickpea flour. The next biggest market is crackers and crisps made of pulse flours like chickpeas or lentils. Those are the main markets to target but we’re also observing other markets, such as bakeries who want to develop bread or tart bases fortified with pulse flours. And then there’s the ready meal producers which is another potential market. 

Basically, there are two camps: the people who are going to really emphasise the pulse flour aspect, like the chickpea or lentil flour pasta and then there’s the “clean label” camp, who want to substitute chemical ingredients with more natural, clean ingredients. Consumers are increasingly sensitive to what exactly goes into the products they are buying. They’re becoming more resistant to products that have like 50 ingredients, lots of which are artificial, and this is pushing the industry to substitute more natural ingredients, which are often from plant-based sources. 


So the plant-based market is developing well in France?

Yes, actually the biggest precursor in the pulse flours market in France was the organic industry, who were the first to use it. They’ve been available in niche and organic shops in France for a while now. But we’re aiming to bring this into the conventional food markets. We are certified bio, so we have launched our flours as organic, which made it easier to sell to that market initally since they are already aware of the product.


What’s the value of being organic? Is it more difficult to produce an organic product?

When I was studying the market, I realised that my first clients, the ones that I wouldn’t have to convince, would be the organic market. This is why I wanted that to be our first certification. In terms of difficulty, because we’re a “closed” factory, there’s no risk of cross-contamination so it was actually quite simple for us to achieve.


Do you plan to sell on the international market? Where are the biggest opportunities?

Absolutely, that’s why we are going to conferences like Anuga. I like to follow the logic of “start with the easiest”, so for us that would be markets who are already aware of and users of pulse flours, such as the UK, Benelux and Italy. Eastern Europe is also looking convincing, as well as Spain and Portugal. However, I’m aware that it’s important to focus on the local aspect of the product and in the beginning we are really trying to centre everything in France and use raw materials that are almost exclusively of French origin. I imagine that consumers in the UK and Belgium have a similar mindset.

But origins are not everything. What’s important for us in the production of our flour is that we are making something good and healthy. Now, it’s not enough just to add lentils into a product, you need to make it clear to the customer that it has been made in a conscious way and that it is good for them, but also that it tastes good! I’ve already tried some pea and lentil pasta that really wasn’t good. So you have to remember that at the end of the day we’re looking to create good products. It also needs to be an accessible price; you can’t be so strict on the “only French ingredients” idea that it makes the price shoot up too much. 


Are there any pulses which have more potential than others in the flour market?

Well, we can’t really judge it yet since we’re only 6 months old! But it’s clear already that the two most promising, based on interest, are green lentils and chickpeas. They’re showing the most demand. We’re also seeing bean flour get some attention.


How is the flour processed?

There are several processes to make pulse flours. We make “farine native”, which is the most natural way to produce flour and preserve the organoleptic qualities of the pulses. First, we remove the outer shell and then we grind it and we finish by making sure the texture is harmonious. It is done using heat and it’s a dry process which uses zero water; we want to respect the raw materials as much as possible. Because we’re not making a texturized protein or a meat substitute, it’s easier for us to have a simpler, more natural process. Also, there’s no waste, because we sell the outer shells to the pet food industry. 

In the second phase of Vegedry, which is coming next year, we want to produce “protein flour” from pulses, which involves separating the protein from the starch in order to create a new protein-enriched flour that has something like 55/60% protein levels. The process is called turbo-separation. There’s a market for these with manufacturers of ready meals who need a substitute for animal protein.


What else is Vegedry doing to be more sustainable?

One thing that is important is that we chose to build the Vegedry factory on the CIACAM site in order to have as little transportation of raw materials as possible. We’re proud of that. 

The Ministry of Culture has also put in place a national support program for the plant-based protein sectors in France and Vegedry has been accepted in the program, which will finance in part the second phase of our project. The French government is definitely taking more of an interest in this sector. They’ve realised they must support and encourage the development of the plant-based industry because it’s important to be able to preserve and develop autonomy for France in this new sector. 

For me, the challenge in the next few years will be developing more processing plants in France but it’s also important that the State supports more pulse production in France. This year was bad for farmers; the harvest wasn’t great because there was too much water. Farmers need incentive to plant more pulses or we risk having a lack of raw materials. Also, the consumer has to be made aware of the industry and the government has a role to play in that: to encourage the consumption of pulses.