2023: Sofiprotéol at the cutting edge of the challenges agricultural and food sector players face

Economic stability continued to be severely shaken over the last twelve months. Persistently-high energy, raw material and transport prices continued to greatly impact company scenarios.
The great variability with which players once again had to cope, combined with the ever-present volatility, heightened competitiveness and performance disparities.

2023 was also marked by inflation and, above all, by an unprecedented surge in interest rates as EURIBOR, which was historically close to or below zero, pursued its growth to reach a level of around 4%. As such, financial expenses weighed a lot in the accounts of our partner companies, which in turn gave rise to new debt-focused challenges even though WCR remained high. It has never been more important for our partners to have a sound balance sheet with sufficient equity capital, and to be backed by long-term investors.

This complicated environment, as such, encouraged us to step up our investment momentum.
The overall amount which Sofiprotéol invested grew from 60 million euro in 2022 to almost 100 million euro, with a dozen or so initiatives targeting all sizes of companies and a wide range of projects.
We also ramped up our geographical presence across all regions, by investing as close as possible to production areas and, as such, strengthening our commitment to our local partners

Storage organizations, the primary link in the agricultural and food sectors, and in particular agricultural cooperatives, were at the heart of our initiatives. One of our specialties is our in-depth knowledge of these heterogeneously-sized structures, established at the very heart of the regions, and which focus on animal and plant sectors. Among the initiatives carried out with cooperatives in 2023, three illustrate our commitment to creating value for members’ revenue:

•  Terres du Sud, supporting the “Land Developers” project in Guyenne, Gascogne and Périgord, and its external growth and CSR commitment ambitions
• CAPL – and its “Anjou Pearls” initiative in the Pays de la Loire region, supporting production diversification, with the development of high value-added “little seeds” such as quinoa
•  MLC – and its “Co-operating for the future” program, in the dairy production and food-service distribution sector, with an ambitious CSR strategy that intends to channel over 90% of food procurement to French producers and manufacturers

We also set ourselves the goal of strengthening and diversifying our means of action to reach an even wider target. To this end, we continued to support the growth of a wide range of companies, especially SMEs in the regions, which boost our economic fabric.

•  Among our investments in 2023: Martin-Pouret, which perpetuates the tradition of Master Vinegar Makers in Orléans. This investment will be used to create a new workshop for this heritage company which, as such, will modernize its production and increase its productivity
• Another example of our initiatives: Cosucra, a Belgian family-run company, European leader in processing peas grown in France, just on the other side of the nearby country border, once again placed its trust in us. This ambitious project addresses consumer expectations as regards healthy, sustainable food
• Last, but not least, our acquisition of a minority stake in French Food Capital, which, in turn, invests a majority of its capital in French agri-food SMEs and mid-caps, is a prime example of this. Concurrently, we subscribed to the new French Food Agro Invest fund. This twofold initiative boosts our ability to support the sector

Our commitment to agricultural and environmental transitions is also expressed through our support for the development of bio solutions. In line with this, we supported Biobest, a leading player in this promising segment, to ramp up efforts rolled out in the field crop sector in France.

Although a huge scope of innovation is driven by mature companies, a dynamic ecosystem of startups is also hard at work imagining solutions for tomorrow for the agricultural world, to tackle environmental and climate challenges. Thanks to the innovation fund which we manage on behalf of the interbranch association, Terres Univia, we finance projects that prove the relevance of their solutions for our sectors, by accompanying them, hence, we help them acquire the technical references required to support their development. It was with this in mind that we recently concluded a partnership with La Ferme Digitale and launched a first call for project, and intend to renew this type of support.

Although the period is complicated for the players it supports, our CSR commitment policy means our investments are sound and we are able to address transition challenges.

From the safety perspective, we pursued our historic commitments, related to Avril’s industrial business line, with the “SofiCare” program, which focuses on employees on production sites sharing best practices and becoming more highly-aware of safety. In 2023, over 50 of our participants benefited from this program.

At the same time, new effects of climate change led us to carry out an in-depth prospective study on the subject and its impacts, hand-in-hand with experts. Special attention was paid to oilseed crops, to anticipate consequences and adapt to these changes. We will share the insights gained with our partners concerned by this and will work with them to find tailored solutions.

Although the year started off for Sofiprotéol with a focus on innovation, it is also marked by the low visibility companies have on the economic climate for the coming months.
Once again, agricultural and agri-food sectors will have a host of challenges to face, given the overall backdrop of economic instability, characterized by an increase in the level of indebtedness.
We are ready to take on these challenges. We have the ability and the means required to support our partners, strengthen their financial structure, help them adapt, and support them in their growth and innovation ambitions.

We are fueled by the momentum of 2023, a year where Sofiprotéol was on hand to meet the challenges sector players faced. Companies are under a great deal of pressure as a result of the economic climate and transitions, and we are at the cutting edge to help finance innovative solutions over the long term to deal with this. This is the bedrock of our model, the catalyst that spurs us to take action: Sofiprotéol, sustainably-committed to our purpose, Serving the Earth.