Andrésy: private-label jam makers for three generations!

Food trends change quickly. Which is why major brands and hotel and food service professionals are constantly on the lookout for innovative, unique products. Andrésy meets their needs by offering them private-label jams. We take a closer look at an eminently customer-focused organisation.

Private-label jam making is a skill that Andrésy has been cultivating for three generations now and has down to a T. Its organisation makes it possible to tailor its response to a customer base that wants to build differentiation through exclusive products that reflect its identity.

The jam maker rises to all of the challenges involved:

– create a product from scratch;

– update and expand a range;

– use an existing recipe to innovate.

It can produce recipes in quantities from 400 to several thousand jars.

A very precise set of specs

Andrésy’s special skill consists in satisfying its customer’s expectations with a solution that reconciles novelty, taste quality and the legal and technical constraints.

To guarantee consistent quality for each recipe, Andrésy drafts and scrupulously follows a price set of specs. The document lists every single component in the production process: variety, origin, culture, harvesting conditions for the raw materials, type of recipe, sugar content, fruit preparation method, ingredient dosing, texture, packaging, quantities, point-of-sale packaging, and delivery.

Personalised guidance and services

Creating a recipe involves close collaboration between the initiator and Andrésy. The jam maker brings its customer:

– guidance on the legal aspects and customs requirements for export markets;

– help with choosing the shape and size of the jar, the colour of the capsule, the shape of the label and the information that has to be shown on it;

– its services in liaising with the professionals tasked with designing and printing the labels;

– management of its stocks of jars, capsules and labels.

Production: rigour and anticipation

The creative process involved in private-labelling was described in the article “Behind the scenes of private-label jams”.

Once the recipe reaches the production stage, Andrésy’s traditional organisational arrangements kick in.

The Scheduling team has the tricky task of implementing all of the resources necessary for the operation, in liaison with the in-house departments. The production operation has to be slotted into the calendar and respect numerous parameters (types of fruit, size and shape of the labels, quantities, etc.), including the factory’s production capacity. Every day, the factory cooks not only bespoke recipes but also its own ranges (the Gastronomy range, the Prestige range, Les Petites Parisiennes, etc.).

Once everything is scheduled, the cooking preparation workshop sets to work. The preparation staff inspect the fruit and ingredients by hand. They follow the specs and the recipe instructions scrupulously when it comes to chopping the fruit and weighing out each component. Everything is packaged separately for the factory, where the cooking staff will deploy their full talent to obtain the perfect product.

After that, the teams will inspect, label and package the jars, store the finished products and complete the delivery formalities. Finally, the jam is dispatched to the customer.

The first-run ritual

When a new recipe is going into its first full-scale production run, it’s a very exciting and nerve-racking time.  Even if the trial run went well, there can be surprises in store during the maiden full-scale run.

An initial batch is cooked the day before launch day. The R&D team gathers around the cooker to make sure everything goes well. They discuss it, taste it hot, taste it cold, test the order in which the ingredients are added, compare and adjust until the expected result is obtained: the perfect texture and flavour.

The next day, the first production run will be launched, then the product will be displayed on the shelves of a major distributor, a gourmet grocery shop or the breakfast buffet of a 4* or 5* hotel in France or abroad. Mission accomplished!