Increasing the accessibility of our products

Since its creation, the individual portion has been at the heart of the Bel model and contributes to the accessibility of our products. Because we are committed to providing a healthier and more responsible diet for all, we want our portioned products to allow everyone to enjoy healthy and balanced snacks that can be easily transported and consumed in the right amount, at home or on the go.

Making our products accessible means having product ranges that are affordable for the greatest number of people and adapting their recipes to local nutritional needs.

Making our products accessible also means developing new distribution models, notably via street vendors.

Thanks to these new distribution models, Bel offers its products through channels that match local distribution methods, while having a positive impact on local communities.

Offering good products accessible to all and for all

We are continually working to make our products more affordable, especially where purchasing power may make it difficult to access healthy food. To meet the nutritional needs of low-income populations, we are developing specific ranges of accessible products systematically enriched with key nutrients* and sold at more accessible prices.

* At least 1 of the 4 nutrients recommended by the World Health Organization: iron, iodine, vitamin A or zinc.

The Simply Laughing Cow, launched in Algeria in July 2020, combines dairy and raw vegetable materials and is enriched with calcium and vitamins A and D, which make it more accessible in terms of price. It is sold at about 20% less than the traditional The Laughing Cow.

In some countries, in response to growing demand, we are helping to democratize organic food – primarily for children, for whom we have launched the organic Mini Babybel and an organic version of The Laughing Cow. And, by 2022, our organic offer will be extended to all of our major international brands.

In Europe, we launched Mini Babybel Bio in 2018 and The Laughing Cow Bio in 2019.

In order to meet consumers’ diverse dietary expectations, we have also initiated an approach to democratize plant-based products:

  • in 2021 we launched Nurishh our fully plant-based brand of eleven 100% vegetable specialties, sold in 14 countries (Europe and North America)
  • for a couple of years, we have launched the plant-based version of our core-brands: it is the case for Boursin plant-based (commercialized in the US and Europe), Babybel plant-based (commercialized in the US, Canada and the UK). The Laughing Cow plant-based version will be launched by the end of 2023 in the UK and beginning of 2024 in Canada and the US.

 

Plant-based or mixed products have already been developed within several of our core brands. Ultimately, we aim to achieve a balance between dairy products on the one hand, and plant-based or fruit-based products on the other.

Developing new distribution models, closer to local uses

Strengthening our accessibility also means adapting to all modes of consumption, and therefore make our distribution models evolve to be present in everyday points of sale.

In countries where traditional sales systems are very present, we are setting up special programs to support street vendors.

In 2013, we launched the “Sharing Cities” program in several large cities in emerging countries, which mobilizes existing distribution networks of street vendors to market The Laughing Cow® brand products, while giving them access to a range of training, health insurance and financial services.

In Vietnam, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Turkey, Madagascar and India, we provide nearly 6,500 vendors with access to health coverage and professional training.

Since 2019, we have also been running a support programme for a network of grocery distributors in Morocco, called “Inaya” (benevolence in Arabic). This program, which was also implemented in Egypt in 2021, will soon be extended to other countries.

Inaya is a program designed for retailers who are already Bel customers, with the possibility of accessing health insurance services specially adapted to them and their families, at preferential rates. In 2020, the Inaya program enabled 963 Moroccan retailers to benefit from health insurance services for themselves and their families.

To go further...

  • An organic offer for each of our major international brands by 2022.
  • Targeting 80 000 vendors participating in Bel’s Inclusive Business program by 2025.
  • In the long run, we are aiming for a balance between dairy products on the one hand, and vegetable or fruit products on the other.