InVivo Group, French agricultural and agri-food company, announced today that it has welcomed three investment partners – KKR, Bpifrance, and Crédit Agricole Group – to the capital of Malteries Soufflet. This minority investment of €440m aims to accelerate the development of its malt business and strengthen the Group’s position as one of the global leaders in the sector.

Malteries Soufflet is one of the world's leading players in the malt industry, with 11.0% of the global market and nearly 1,200 employees in 28 malt plants on four continents, with an annual production capacity of 2.4 million tons of malt. This division of InVivo Group relies on a strong barley supply chain, but also on close and long-standing relationships with its customers, including solid partnerships with major international breweries. For both large international brewers and smaller players, the supply of brewing-quality malt is an irreplaceable strategic asset, and many of them already rely on Malteries Soufflet.

Upstream, thanks to its vertical integration in the sector, as well as its footprint within barley-producing regions of France, Malteries Soufflet has abundant capacity to supply malting-quality barley on a global scale. Downstream, the underlying beer market, which uses 90.0% of malt in its production, is growing steadily, particularly due to emerging markets, especially in Africa and Asia. More niche opportunities such as craft beers or alcohol-free beers, where Malteries Soufflet is already active, also offer further growth perspectives.

Thierry Blandinières, CEO of InVivo Group, stated: “InVivo wants to make malt one of the founding pillars of its economic model – this is why we have decided to accelerate our investments in order to move upmarket and support the growth of our customers globally. Thanks to our strategic partners KKR, Bpifrance, and Crédit Agricole Group, who invested in Malteries Soufflet, InVivo has acquired the financial resources and skills to quickly implement this ambitious growth plan”.

InVivo intends to seize the solid growth prospects of the barley market, which is expected to reach $24.7bn by 2027, including $9.7bn for malt alone. To carry out this project, InVivo Group can capitalize on the proven organization, tools, and industrial processes of Malteries Soufflet, a global reference built on a longstanding expertise developed by skilled and recognized teams.