Mousquetaires group's agro-industrial sector to reach €6 billion in turnover by 2028 despite a lower number of factories

Agromousquetaires Divests Key Seafood Processing Plants in Strategic Refocus

FRANCE
Monday, June 02, 2025, 04:50 (GMT + 9)

Intermarché's Agri-Food Arm to Sell Surimi and Cooked Seafood Factories as it Concentrates Investments on Raw and Minimally Processed Products.

PARIS – Agromousquetaires, the agri-food subsidiary of French retail giant Intermarché (Mousquetaires Group), announced on May 23 its intention to sell a portion of its marine division. This move is part of a broader strategy to refocus investments on "raw and minimally processed products" across its portfolio, shifting away from certain ready-to-eat and heavily processed categories.

Photo: Pole AquiMer

Among the eight production plants slated for sale in the coming months or years, three are dedicated to seafood processing:

• Capitaine Cook, a surimi production facility located in Clohars-Carnoët, Finistère.
• Two Capitaine Houat plants, situated in Lanester, Morbihan, and Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Calais, which are known for their cooked seafood products.

These activities are no longer deemed "strategic" by the group's management, which aims to "accelerate the modernization of its industrial division and strengthen its competitiveness." Agromousquetaires has set a timeline of 12 to 30 months to find suitable buyers for these facilities, with a stated priority to preserve all existing jobs.

Photo: Pole AquiMer

While these specific seafood processing sites are up for divestment, Agromousquetaires will retain other key marine assets. The Scapêche fishing armament in Lorient, Le Moulin de la Marche (smoked fish) in Châteaulin, Finistère, and Capitaine Cook (canned fish) in Plozévet, Finistère, are notably unaffected by this strategic sale.

Photo: Pole AquiMer

The divestment comes amidst a substantial investment drive by the Mousquetaires Group. The company has announced a total €750 million investment program over five years to strengthen its private label brands and develop strategic sectors. This sum includes an additional €250 million recently committed, building on a €500 million plan announced in June 2024. This ambitious program is projected to boost the group's agro-industrial turnover to €6 billion by 2028, up from €4.7 billion in 2023, despite a reduced number of factories following the refocusing.

The move underscores a growing trend in the agri-food sector towards streamlining portfolios to concentrate on core strengths and higher-value, less-processed product lines, even for vertically integrated retail groups like Intermarché.

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