Reuters – Louis Dreyfus Company has launched its own juice brand. The product will first appear on shelves in France.
The company hopes to use its orange production in Brazil to tap into demand for fresh and traceable fruit juices, the agricultural commodity group said March 12.
LDC is a global trader and processor of farm goods and estimates it is one of the world’s three largest orange juice suppliers, supported by its plantations and factories in Brazil.
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The Montebelo Brasil label, named after one of its Brazilian plantations, is the first LDC-owned juice brand. The group sees room at the premium end of the market, despite shoppers facing price hikes linked to orange harvest setbacks, executives told reporters in Paris.
The brand went on sale in early March and is expected to reach 3,000 French supermarkets by the end of the year. LDC is aiming for a 10 per cent share of the nation’s fresh juice category within three to four years, said Aurelien Grisval, head of downstream markets at LDC’s juices division.
The news touches on continued controversy over Brazilian agriculture and deforestation. That issue is at the heart of French opposition to a trade deal between the European Union and South American bloc Mercosur.
But Brazilian citrus fruit, grown in the southeast of the country, is viewed positively by consumers and LDC hopes to bolster that image through full traceability for its orange juice and multi-fruit products, Grisval said.
Juice sales volumes in France have declined in the past year, particularly in the fresh category, as record orange juice commodity prices have been felt in shops, alongside inflation in other breakfast staples like coffee and cocoa.
The orange juice market, dominated by Brazil, has been roiled by adverse weather and greening, a bacterial disease that has hit orange harvests.
Brazil may face another disappointing orange crop next season after a heatwave a few months ago, Grisval said.
