These little pink sachets have passed through the generations. “Alsa” yeasts still fill the carts of many French people. With, often, the thought that they come from Alsace.
This will really be the case soon. Their production will be brought together in Strasbourg, announced Monday the Dr. Oetker group. The German company sold the Lorraine plant in Ludres where Alsa yeasts were produced to the Italian company Newlat, while retaining the brand.
“The entire production will be brought together at the Strasbourg site, where preparations for Alsa desserts and cakes are already produced,” said Dr. Oetker in a press release. The yeast will be produced “90% in France, in Strasbourg”, the “complement” being “from factories based in Germany and Italy”, detailed the group.
The sale of the Ludres site (Meurthe-et-Moselle), effective since January 1, represents an investment of 20 million euros for Newlat, which aims, with this new entity and the marketing of part of the production under the Minuto brand, a turnover of 50 million euros, by 2024, and a profit before tax (Ebitda) of 5 million euros.
Originally a creation from Lorraine
The site of the Alsa brand, created in 1897 in Lorraine, had been placed under ad hoc agent in September. “Contrary to what has been reported in certain media, this takeover does not signify the end of production in France of the brand with the small pink sachets”, insisted the Dr. Oetker group, according to which “it has never been in [son] intention […] to cease its production and marketing activities in France”.
Dr. Oetker also explains that he has “secured employment at his Ludres site, renamed EM Foods”, where “all his employees, ie 93 employees, have been taken over by the Italian group”. The Ludres factory had already been bought, at the same time as the Alsa brand, by Dr. Oetker from the Unilever group in 2018. It had 140 employees at the time.