Since Foodmaker‘s healthy meals have been made available in all 3,800 Rewe supermarkets last month, sales are booming. Turnover for the full quarter went up 41 % as the company is preparing to double its production capacity.
Largest market already
Last year, Foodmaker’s sales grew by 20%, but this year growth is even faster. This has everything to do with a major breakthrough in Germany: after successful tests in North Rhine-Westphalia, the brand is now sold in 3,800 Rewe stores throughout the country. And that is the second largest supermarket chain in Europe, CEO Lieven Vanlommel told Belgian newspaper La Libre.
“Germany is already our first market – ahead of France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Since the beginning of the year, we have seen a growth of 390 % here.” There is little competition in the field of healthy food in Germany, Vanlommel points out. Business is also going well elsewhere: sales at Belgian Delhaize grew by 31 %, at French Franprix even by 80 %. Foodmaker is also present at French Monoprix and Dutch Albert Heijn.
Scaling up production Productie opschalen
The strong growth in the retail channel means there is now hardly any time left to open new restaurants. Last year, Foodmaker opened just ten, nine of which were in Belgium. Five more openings are planned for this year, including a first in Germany. In Belgium, Foodmaker operates 21 self-owned restaurants, with two more in France (both in Paris) and also two in the Netherlands. The company is now looking for a franchise partner per country to boost further growth.
All of this means that the company has to scale up production. In the central kitchen in Westerlo, Belgium, 300 employees currently produce 100,000 healthy meals per day. Current maximum capacity is about 200,000 meals, but the site offers enough space to double production: within a few months, Foodmaker will submit a permit application for an additional building, which should be ready in 2027.
