EUROGERM started construction work for its new sourdough bio-fermentation plant in the Dijon-Bourgogne Ecoparc in Saint-Apollinaire, on the outskirts of Dijon. The plant represents an investment of EUR 21 million, including EUR 1.8 million in funding from the France Relance recovery fund. The building will cover an area of 3,650 sqm on a 13,000 sqm plot of land. The plant will be operational in the first quarter of 2024. The bio-fermentation plant will be dedicated to the production of 100% French sourdough.

The starting production capacity will be 400 tonnes of sourdough per year and it will gradually increase to 1,000 tonnes every year. In time, other fermentation ingredients will be used here, in addition to sourdough production.

As of 2022, EUROGERM has its own 600 sqm research center, the Eurogerm Technological Innovation Center (ETIC), and is now launching a pilot workshop for sourdoughs on the same site in Quetigny. This facility will enable sourdough to be tested on a pre-industrial scale.

Supported by France Relance, the project received EUR 1.8 million in state subsidies towards the cost of the ETIC research center and the plant.

In the words of Jean-François Honoré, president of EUROGERM, “With this bio-fermentation plant, we are taking the leap to become an ingredients producer. This is a strategic evolution for our own growth, and to support our customers in their innovation processes”.

With 15 subsidiaries and over 600 employees worldwide, EUROGERM expects to record EUR 185 million in turnover in 2022.

Photo: EUROGERM