The food industry in Calvados sprang from the wealth of the county’s truly ancestral agricultural and maritime resources.
Our county owes its reputation to the quality of its products and is particularly famed for its cheeses, butter, calvados and meat.
 Economic importance
- 960 companies employing 11,000 people
- 20% of all manufacturing jobs in 2003
(French national average : 14.3%)
The sector is dominated by the dairy and brewing industries :
- Calvados is France’s 11th highest milk producer. This milk is used to make butter, cream and cheese, i.e. 10% of the national production of crème fraîche and 5% of the national cheese tonnage;
- Normandy’s orchards account for 60% of national cider apple production, and Calvados is one of the region’s leading producers.
Last but not least…
This sector is characterized by tremendous diversity, ranging from the meat trade (Normande beef breed) to seafood products, biscuits, fruit and vegetables.
Key players
Major groups
- Agrial : France’s 4th largest group in the multipurpose cooperative sector
- Lactalis : France’s largest dairy producer and its leading exporter of dairy produce
- Danone : the world’s leading producer of fresh dairy produce
- Nestlé : the world’s largest dairy group
- Nutrimer-Scandinavian (Bongrain Group) : market leader in seafood products
- Saint Louis Sucre : beet sugar
Innovative companies
- Lyven (Soufflet Group)
Enzymes, organic acids and antibiotics grown on beet pulp substrate
- Standa Industrie
Production of organic and biological solutions for the food industry
- Nestlé Clinical Nutrition
Milk proteins for nutritional products
Research hubs at the service of industry
Calvados is developing a biology research hub to promote transfersto agro-bio-industries.
- The Institute for Biology and Agro-Bio-Industries brings together 6 laboratories, including the food microbiology laboratory (25 employees) and IFREMER (marine physiology and ecophysiology)
- ADRIA Normandie , the Regional Association for the Development of the Food Industry, provides technical assistance and research services, as well as information resources via its Ialine portal (data on the food industry worldwide).
- IRBA (Institute of Research into Applied Biology) : dairy and cheese microbiology laboratory.
Training for jobs in the food industry
A whole range of qualifications, from the BEP technical school certificate to university degrees and engineering diplomas.
The food-processing industry also benefits from the presence of logistics firms specializing in order preparation, the distribution of food products and the transport of frozen and chilled foodstuffs, as well as suppliers of specialized equipment (TFE, Gringore, Logidis, etc.).
 To find out more :
www.calvados.chambagri.fr
draf.basse-normandie.agriculture.gouv.fr
Food industry development agency :
iaa-cra.normandie.fr
www.irqua-normandie.fr
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