In 2000, Reunion produced 95 million eggs per year. It produces 150 million today. The Ovocoop cooperative, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year, treated 19 million in 2024. She works for the professional communities market, agrifood industries, CHR and bakery-pastries. A professional market that Ovocoop has been able to understand and anticipate to become the leader. Crossed memories and explanations of Pascal Quineau, first president of Ovocoop, from its creation to 2023, and Olivier Techer, new president for two years.
Meeting Leader : Cooperative for egg processing and marketing of egg products : is this still the correct definition of Ovocoop ?
Pascal Quineau : This is always the right definition. But let's get into the details of the products. Since he started, Ovocoop produces pasteurized liquid eggs – whole, yellow, whites – in packages ranging from 1 kg to 20 kg. The other large family of products is that of peeled hard-boiled eggs., sold in buckets of 30, 75 and 150 units and intended mainly for collective catering.
Olivier Techer : For twenty-five years, Ovocoop has not changed its vocation. The cooperative is still there at the service of the breeders who make it up – there are five of us today – to process their eggs.. Also at the service of our customers to offer them the most complete range possible.
The cooperative was born in 1996 and started production in 2000. What was the goal at the start?, and has this objective been achieved? ?
P. Q. : We started marketing our eggs, after a trial period, in January 2000. The first objective was to counter imports with a local offer meeting the requirements of professional customers in terms of volume., quality and food safety. At the time, Reunion imported 150 tonnes of egg products per year. I don't think this number has changed much.. We have kept imports at roughly the same level in a market that, his, has developed with the number of inhabitants and the multiplication of uses of the egg. This is where the real success of Ovocoop lies. To better understand, we have to look back to the 1990s, when food safety standards became more and more restrictive. It was to respect their specifications that the communities supplied themselves with imported products.. Ovocoop provided a local response by delivering pasteurized eggs.
O. T. : Remember that in terms of production, the initial objective of the cooperative was to transform 20 million eggs. Last year, we reached 19 million, and we expect to make further progress in the years to come. We almost reached our goal.
What does Ovocoop represent on the egg products market? ?
P. Q. : Knowing that we produce approximately 150 million eggs in Reunion, 20 million eggs represent 13% of the market. Ovocoop is the leader in egg products intended for professional customers, but this market only represents 17% of the egg market. In a city, it rather represents between 37 and 38%. Why this differential ? Mainly because the Reunion agri-food industry is less developed compared to the
metropolis, where the pasta factories, cookies, mayonnaise, to name just a few, are heavy consumers of eggs.
O. T. : The elders had the intelligence to come together to find a solution for egg processing. We have to take our hats off to them for knowing how to organize, even if they remained competitors on the shell egg market for the general public. They were able to find solutions for processed products.
Why did you choose the community and professional outlet? ?
P. Q. : First of all, there is the context carrying the egg. Its consumption continues to grow. Eggs are eaten by everyone. In salty, sweet. In every kitchen around the world, you find egg. It is not subject to any religious or other prohibition.. And it’s the cheapest protein. The outlet for communities, of industry, you CHR, of the bakery-pastry industry is explained by the need to create volume, for our customers and for us. Canteens in municipalities such as Saint-Denis, Saint Pierre, Saint-Paul can use 20 to 25,000 eggs per day ! You have to imagine the canteen workers who previously peeled 25,000 eggs by hand every day ! With us, scaling is automated. Ovocoop meets the needs of professional customers with fresh, ready-to-use products, from local production which guarantees a regular supply, which is not always the case for imports as soon as a boat is delayed.
O. T. : Ovocoop is autonomous in delivery. Today we generate half of our turnover with school canteens.. Three municipalities are in the top 10 of our clients !
The last 25 years have seen the economic and social transformation of Reunion Island.. What challenges did the cooperative have to overcome to support this development? ?
P. Q. : I was talking about the canteen girls who peeled the eggs : at first, we took their activity. Obtaining supplies from us required communities to relocate this staff elsewhere. On the other hand, compared to the shell egg, our products appeared as processed, forcing canteens to adapt their recipes. The beginnings were not easy, because we were precursors, even ahead of the market. But the 2000s opened a new era, a new era. Everything was changing quickly. Ovocoop has been able to adapt to the market, which evolved in the direction we had envisioned.
Do we consume eggs as we did twenty-five years ago or have consumption behaviors changed? ?
P. Q. : Young people appreciate eggs because they are easy and quick to cook.. Today we eat a lot more salads, plus d’omelettes, so no more eggs. In the years 1995-2000, we couldn't find a bakery in the Hauts ! Now, you have bakeries in the gaps, pastries everywhere.
O. T. : I see at home. I am an egg producer, I eat eggs at least two to three times a week : on the plate, hard, in an omelet. This was not the case for my parents. This generation sought more elaborate cuisine, with curries, the rougails, etc. After, the egg that we cannot see : I'm thinking in particular of pasta, consumed more and more today. And the people of Reunion travel. They discover new times to consume the egg, like at breakfast in hotels abroad. All this contributes to changing consumer behavior.
A few years ago, Ovocoop mentioned the possibility of offering more sophisticated products, like omelets. Is this avenue for developing new products current? ?
P. Q. : Yes, we thought about omelettes, but the local market is still very narrow. And the product had its constraints : the omelettes would have been sold frozen. In addition, we have customers who make this type of product and we would have entered into competition with them, which would have been stepping on toes. However, we have not closed the door to new products. Everything will depend on the expectations of new generations. If the demand is there, we will do it anyway.
ADIR Assure label for energy savings, four day week, reduction of the environmental impact of production : does the cooperative seek exemplary CSR ?
P. Q. : We must pay tribute to our operating directors, Patrick Le Lyonnais and his predecessor Patrick Doressamy. They convinced our board of directors to go this route. The four-day week made it possible, in turn, to save energy. It’s positive for employees and for the company. I add the TMS Pros trophy awarded to us by Health Insurance for our mechanized system for handling eggs during cooking.. It prevents operators from the risk of musculoskeletal disorders.
O. T. : The four-day week cannot be transposed to our farms. We have therefore adapted our organization to maintain continuity of production and deliveries to our customers..
How does the future look for Ovocoop? ?
O. T. : We will continue the work of the elders. It won't be the same progression, because the egg products market has become quite mature. But we will try to find new markets, new customers, in future years. Et, why not, thanks to new products.
