Our story

The purchase of the Grande Malterie in Nogent-sur-Seine marked the beginning of the Malting activity for the Soufflet company founded in 1900, which until then had specialised in cereal collection. A visionary, Jean Soufflet understood the importance of a supply chain approach and the added value provided by the processing of cereals. This acquisition gave the company greater strength on the barley market and secured the collection outlet.

A new malting plant was built in Nogent-sur-Seine, near Soufflet's silos and historic headquarters in 1972. In 1982, to process the barley collected in the south of Aube, Soufflet decided to build a new malting plant in Polisy. This was one of the first vertical facilities in Europe, thus avoiding handling and saving energy.

The partnership between Soufflet and Grands Moulins de Strasbourg led to the birth of the Société des malteries d'Alsace (SMA) in 1988, and the construction of a 60,000-tonne capacity malting plant near the Rhine, a strategic location. In 1994, a decisive step was taken in the business’ development with the acquisition of Malteries Franco-Belges, which owns sites in the North of France, Burgundy, the Centre and Alsace. Soufflet became the leading French maltster!

During this decade, the company took an international turn with development in Eastern and Central Europe. In 1998, it built a malting plant in Saint Petersburg. Malteries Soufflet then set up operations in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and the Czech Republic in 2002, countries with considerable potential. Development then continued in 2004 in the new CIS countries, in particular Kazakhstan and Ukraine, to support clients in their international development.

The business also continued to boom in France with the construction of a second, ultra-modern malting plant in Nogent-sur-Seine, with a production capacity of 165,000 tonnes of malt, sited next to the old one. The facility uses the most energy- and water-efficient techniques. At the same time, a new malting plant was opened in Romania, replacing two old structures.

Malteries Soufflet started to market organically produced malts in France. To start with, the Arcis-sur-Aube malting plant was certified, allowing production of a range of 7 kilned malts. The Pithiviers site would go on to be certified and take over from Arcis-sur-Aube in 2017. Since then, our range of organic malts has grown to 15 references.

Growth intensified for Malteries Soufflet with the 2011 acquisition of two malting plants in Bulgaria from the country's leading brewer, a subsidiary of the StarBev Group. In the same year, Malteries Soufflet acquired Durst Malz in Germany, a family business founded in 1824 with three production sites. Malteries Soufflet is now the leading European maltster.

Malteries Soufflet took an interest in new areas with high potential. In 2012, it acquired a stake in Malteria do Valé in Brazil, the world’s third largest beer market. It finally bought the site in 2013. In 2015, with the acquisition of the Molson Coors malting business in Burton upon Trent, UK, Malteries Soufflet entered the British malt market, the second largest in Europe.

Malteries Soufflet began thinking about the SAI approach in 2013 and then supported Soufflet Agriculture in the reconnaissance of its agricultural approaches with its partner farmers in accordance with the SAI standard. From 2014, Malteries Soufflet delivered sustainable malts to Heineken. Since then, volumes have increased and the approach has been rolled out in several countries.

As part of its strategy to establish itself in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), Malteries Soufflet decided to pursue its growth in India by acquiring the Alwar malting plant built in 2012, 150 km from Delhi. India offers interesting outlets for the beer market but also for the whisky market, with the country being the second largest producer in the world. This facility contributes to the country's agronomic development.

To support the craft brewer boom in France, Malteries Soufflet created the first malt online e-commerce website specifically dedicated. In addition to being able to order a wide range of malts online, the logistics have also been designed to meet the specific needs and expectations of these customers.

In 2019, in collaboration with a major customer and Soufflet Agriculture, Malteries Soufflet began a study with the aim of improving the carbon footprint of agronomic practices related to barley production. Three main agronomic levers were put forward to reduce the carbon footprint: the use of nitrogenous fertilisers, the optimisation of fertiliser use and the development of plant cover.

The Sowing Good Sense approach promotes the agro-ecological transition by developing sustainable agriculture that creates value and respects the soil, biodiversity and the climate. The approach is based on 5 pillars: origin, environment, naturalness, value distribution and quality. Malteries Soufflet’s sustainable supply chains are part of this approach, which is now supported by the entire InVivo Group.

In 2021, Malteries Soufflet entered the African continent with the construction of a malting plant in Ethiopia, the largest barley producer in Africa. The ambition was to supply the site with 100% local barley and to contribute to the agronomic development of the country's farmers. This new malting plant is the first in the world to have zero carbon emissions (excluding alternative solutions), thanks largely to the use of energy produced by hydro-electric dams.

Following InVivo's acquisition of the Soufflet Group in December 2021, InVivo plans to accelerate the growth of Malteries Soufflet with the goal of doubling its activity in five years to make it the world's leading company. The InVivo Group joined forces with KKR, Bpifrance and the Crédit Agricole Group to support the acceleration of its development. As a company with a mission, InVivo aims to promote the transition of agriculture and food to a resilient agrosystem. Malteries Soufflet's historical commitment to meeting social and environmental challenges fits perfectly into this approach.

Malteries Soufflet began producing HEV3 (High Environmental Value 3) sustainable malts. This new sector values cultivation that adopts more sustainable and environmentally friendly production methods, which is of particular interest to the farmer at farm level.

Malteries Soufflet innovated with the creation of Transparency, a blockchain solution that meets customers’ quest for transparency and thirst for knowledge. By scanning a QR code on the product, the consumer has the opportunity to discover the origin of their beer and its ingredients, its manufacturing process and the know-how of the actors of this sector: farmers, maltsters and brewers.

Co-constructed by Kronenbourg SAS (French subsidiary of the Carlsberg group), Soufflet Agriculture and Malteries Soufflet, the traced Responsible Barley sector is also part of the Sowing Good Sense approach, based on dedicated specifications and guaranteeing transitional agriculture with good agro-ecological practices implemented by farmers. This unique and pioneering approach has led to the creation of an exclusive channel for their 1664 brand.

In January 2023, Malteries Soufflet and La Malterie du Château® announced the signing of a binding agreement for Malteries Soufflet’s 100% acquisition of the Belgian company. Founded in 1868, La Malterie du Château® is the oldest malting plant in Belgium. It is renowned for its comprehensive range of products for craft brewers and distillers. This acquisition confirmed Malteries Soufflet's ambition to become the benchmark for the supply of raw materials to craft brewers all over the world.

Malteries Soufflet launched the first low-carbon malt range. As part of the Sowing Good Sense approach, this new low-carbon offer promotes the agro-ecological transition by developing sustainable channels that create value for both farmers and consumers and are eco-friendly.

To confirm its commitment to a sustainable and responsible approach throughout our value chain on an international scale, Malteries Soufflet has been working with the Science Based Targets initiative. An ambitious approach has been constructed to align with the most challenging target of the Paris Agreement and thus limit global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial temperatures. A first step has been defined to halve our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

To meet the needs of its brewing customers and fulfil the expectations of its consumers, Malteries Soufflet launched So You, a new fully customised service. With So You, customers can benefit from the expertise of Malteries Soufflet's most talented employees, who work with them to jointly define specifications for malts that will meet their challenges. This support can cover agronomic, technical, quality, supply chain or purchasing strategy challenges.

In March 2023, Malteries Soufflet announced that it had made a non-binding, indicative and conditional proposal for United Malt Group Limited (United Malt), an Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) listed company and the world's 4th largest malt producer. The acquisition of United Malt would be a unique opportunity to strengthen our presence in the UK and in the high value craft beer market, to expand our geographic footprint into new strategic markets, in particular the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and to accelerate our ambitious malt strategy. This acquisition would be a key step towards becoming the world's leading malt company with an annual production capacity of 3.7 million tonnes.

Malteries Soufflet completes the acquisition of 100% of United Malt Group, funded by InVivo along with minority shareholders in Malteries Soufflet – KKR, Bpifrance and Crédit Agricole Group. This historic agreement makes us the largest malt company ever created: 41 facilities spread across 20 countries and an annual production capacity of 3.7 million tonnes of malt.