29/1/2016 Michel et Augustin French cookies roll out nationwide at Starbucks http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Manufacturers/Michel-et-Augustin-French-cookies-roll-out-nationwide-at-Starbucks 1/4 FREE NEWSLETTER Your email address SUBSCRIBE Breaking News on Food & Beverage Development North America EU edition | Asian edition NEWS SECTORS TRENDS MULTIMEDIA INGREDIENTS EVENTS JOBS Search Text size Print Forward 7 Post a comment NEWS > MANUFACTURERS Subscribe to our FREE newsletter Your email address SUBSCRIBE Bonjour America! Michel et Augustin cookies roll out nationwide at Starbucks By Elaine Watson+ 28Jan2016 Last updated on 28Jan2016 at 03:55 GMT Related tags: Michel et Augustin, Starbucks, Cookies If you’ve heard of Michel et Augustin, you’re most likely French, or living in New York – where its pastries have recently started appearing in upmarket food stores. But that’s likely to change pretty quickly, predict its founders, who have just struck a deal that has catapulted the quirky French food brand onto the national stage with distribution in 7,624 Starbucks outlets in 50 US states. Cofounder Augustin PaluelMarmont is also in talks with some of the biggest names in US grocery retail about giving his pastries some shelf space, not bad going considering that he only moved to the US in September 2015 and set up offices (the ‘bananeraie’) in Brooklyn in early January 2016. “It’s just the beginning of our story here. We generated revenues of €50m in 2015, and 90% of this was in France, and the US market is six times bigger, so we just see huge potential in the US.” The quirky branding, guerilla marketing tactics and supercharged youtube videos for which the brand is known also resonate well with Millennials in the US, he said. However, navigating the food retail market in the US – which is very fragmented is very different to the way things work in France, where buying power is consolidated among just a handful of key players, he observed. “In the US, we’ve also been going through brokers in many cases, which is different [to the way things work in other markets].” “It’s just the beginning of our story here. We generated revenues of €50m in 2015, and 90% 05May2016 Follow @FoodNavigatorUS 10.3K followers Suivre 193 MOST POPULAR NEWS 1 IN PICTURES: Snacks trendwatching at the 2016 Winter Fancy Food Show 2 IN PICTURES: Beverage trendspotting at the 2016 Winter Fancy Food Show 3 7 trends influencing the evolution of health, wellness and consumers' views of food 4 Why did Walmart’s Express smallstore experiment end in failure? 5 Traditional fats and French cuisine: Campbell predicts trends for the food industry in 2016 KEY INDUSTRY EVENTS The Healthy & Natural Show Chicago, IL / Conference and exhibition read more Access all events listing PRODUCTS Liquid Pre & Probiotic system delivers easy use Sensus Organic & Conventional Coconut Water iTi Tropicals Get to know iTi Tropicals in 90 seconds iTi Tropicals Dough Strengthening & Extended Shelf Life Solution AB Mauri The Elegance of Expeller Pressed Bunge Oils More than just a flavour. WE BRING IDEAS TO LIFE . » Michel et Augustin products are now available in 21 countries and all 50 US states 2.5k Like This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Find out more here. [X]
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29/1/2016 Michel et Augustin French cookies roll out nationwide at Starbucks
Breaking News on Food & Beverage Development North America EU edition | Asian edition
NEWS SECTORS TRENDS MULTIMEDIA INGREDIENTS EVENTS JOBS Search
Text size Print Forward 7
Post a comment
NEWS > MANUFACTURERS
Subscribe to our FREE newsletter Your email address SUBSCRIBE
Bonjour America! Michel et Augustincookies roll out nationwide at Starbucks
By Elaine Watson+
28Jan2016
Last updated on 28Jan2016 at 03:55 GMT
Related tags: Michel et Augustin, Starbucks, Cookies
If you’ve heard of Michel et Augustin, you’re most likely French, or living in New York –
where its pastries have recently started appearing in upmarket food stores. But that’s likely
to change pretty quickly, predict its founders, who have just struck a deal that has
catapulted the quirky French food brand onto the national stage with distribution in 7,624
Starbucks outlets in 50 US states.
Cofounder Augustin PaluelMarmont is also in talks with some of the biggest names in US grocery
retail about giving his pastries some shelf space, not bad going considering that he only moved to
the US in September 2015 and set up offices (the ‘bananeraie’) in Brooklyn in early January 2016.
“It’s just the beginning of our story here. We generated revenues of €50m in 2015, and 90% of thiswas in France, and the US market is six times bigger, so we just see huge potential in the US.”
The quirky branding, guerilla marketing tactics and supercharged youtube videos for which the
brand is known also resonate well with Millennials in the US, he said.
However, navigating the food retail market in the US – which is very fragmented is very different
to the way things work in France, where buying power is consolidated among just a handful of key
players, he observed.
“In the US, we’ve also been going through brokers in many cases, which is different [to the waythings work in other markets].”
“It’s just the beginning of our story here. We generated revenues of €50m in 2015, and 90%
05May2016
Follow @FoodNavigatorUS 10.3K followers
Suivre 193
MOST POPULAR NEWS
1 IN PICTURES: Snacks trendwatching at the
2016 Winter Fancy Food Show
2 IN PICTURES: Beverage trendspotting at
the 2016 Winter Fancy Food Show
3 7 trends influencing the evolution of health,
wellness and consumers' views of food
4 Why did Walmart’s Express smallstore
experiment end in failure?
5 Traditional fats and French cuisine:
Campbell predicts trends for the food
industry in 2016
KEY INDUSTRY EVENTS
The Healthy & Natural ShowChicago, IL / Conference and exhibitionread more
Access all events listing
PRODUCTS
Liquid Pre & Probiotic system delivers
easy use Sensus
Organic & Conventional Coconut Water iTi Tropicals
Get to know iTi Tropicals in 90 seconds iTi Tropicals
Dough Strengthening & Extended ShelfLife Solution AB Mauri
The Elegance of Expeller Pressed Bunge Oils
More than just aflavour.
WE BRING
IDEAS TO LIFE .
»
Michel et Augustin products are now available in 21 countries and all 50 US states
2.5kLike
This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Find out more here. [X]
29/1/2016 Michel et Augustin French cookies roll out nationwide at Starbucks
of this was in France, and the US market is six times
bigger, so we just see huge potential in the US.”
Augustin PaluelMarmont, cofounder, Michel etAugustin
We tried to get into Starbucks in France and in the US in the past and were told no thanks
Given these challenges, the speed with which things have taken off in the US has taken everyoneby surprise, admits PaluelMarmont, who says the company – which he founded in Paris in 2003with his friend Michel de Rovir had tried, and failed, to get into Starbucks several times in thepast.
“We tried to get into Starbucks in France and in
the US in the past and were told no thanks, and
then we had a call on a Thursday night in June
[2015] from the global assistant to [Starbucks’founder and CEO] Howard Schultz asking if wecould send some samples to Seattle for a
meeting the following Monday,” PaluelMarmonttold FoodNavigatorUSA.
“They had come across the brand in a store in
New York and called the number on the packet.”
In a moment of whimsy (or madness), PaluelMarmont decided to dispatch some team
members to fly to Starbuck’s Seattle HQ to deliver the samples in person, and Starbucks was soimpressed it decided to test market the cookie squares (Lemon meringue, & Dark chocolate with apinch of sea salt) in a 25store trial, which expanded to a 415store trial in October 2015.
They passed with flying colors, and in January 7, 2016, the brand went nationwide.
We could be like the Chobani of chocolate mousse!
While Michel et Augustin has more than 100 skus in France, from drinkable yogurt to cheesecrackers, it chose to make its US debut with its butter cookies and pastries, in part for practicalreasons (shelfstable products are easier to send across the Atlantic).
The products for the US market are still manufacturedin France, although that could change in the future,said PaluelMarmont, who along with his cofounder,retains a minority stake in the business, which is nowmajority owned by Artemis, the holding company ofFrench businessman and art collector François Pinault.
“We’ve are also considering producing our amazing
chocolate mousse locally in the US, because there is
such a huge opportunity – you can find a good
chocolate mousse in restaurants, but there is really
nothing in the retail market. We could be like the
Chobani of chocolate mousse!
"But it’s just a project at this stage. We still only have
10 people in the US – although it will be 15 by the summer. We’re still a startup here.”
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