Its 2,500 m2 lab, set up in 2021 in the Pompignane district of Montpellier, allows the young start-up to develop a dietary range.
A stylized female figure holding two plates in her hands and giving a knowing wink. Hanging above the entrance to the laboratory built last year on 2,500 m2, avenue de Pinville in the Pompignane district, the acronym of the Brigade de Véro sums up, in itself, a whole approach: ready meals on a large scale… almost like at home!
“I had fun taking a CAP in cooking at 58,” sums up, with a smile on her lips and a Belgian accent at the end of her words, Véronique Capon. The former real estate professional had read “that this diploma was the minimum required to create a business in the sector. In 2016 I started cooking for people who want to lose weight with good, low calorie .”
“Lose weight without eating anything”
Arthur, the son, a second-line template with tattooed forearms, was the accelerator. “At the beginning, in 2017, the concept was the sale of boxes of ready meals for people who want to lose weight. Without imagining home delivery!” From the basin of departure, the Gard and the Hérault which still accounts for 20% of sales today, the Brigade de Véro now sells its boxes in Île-de-France (25%) and in the rest of the country.
A true culinary start-up
The company, a small family start-up, was one of the four 2021 winners selected by French Tech Méditerranée. The Véro Brigade then benefited from a support program and, thanks to its incubation within the Montpellier BIC, raised funds of €2.3 million. Enough to materialize, last year, the installation of this famous 2500 m2 lab in the Pompignane area. Today the team has around fifty employees and makes a whopping 20,000 dishes and 2,000 boxes delivered each week in France and Belgium. Turnover is commensurate: from €2.9 million in 2020, it climbed to €6 million in 2021. Concerned about its supply of short circuits and local products, the Vero Brigade also adopts a responsible commitment to its packaging, which is all recyclable, and by offering reusable insulated bags for click and collect.
“We work with the company Chronofresh which delivers everywhere, even in Belgium, directly.” Clients (75%) “rather quadra CSP +” who are increasingly joined by clients. “We are targeting people who want to lose weight without eating anything,” summarizes Arthur Capon. “By communicating about our production methods, what our chefs do and the products we work with.” Favoring local suppliers (vegetables, fruits and meats), the Brigade de Véro works a lot with the market of national interest (MIN) in Montpellier.
No preservatives in the dishes
In addition to this product quality, there are technical choices that allow, for example, to be able to ensure the delivery of a whole week of menus (twelve dishes)… without any preservatives. A tour de force in which nearly fifty employees collaborate, including almost two thirds in the famous brigade (in the kitchen!).
Dishes ranging from minced chicken with quinoa and tarragon sauce and zucchini to spaghetti with pesto, broccoli and raw ham chiffonade or even beef mafé, eggplant with parmesane, mushroom stew and vegetables? we pass and more appetizing.
Always with absolute respect for a daily caloric intake as accurately as possible. “As a Belgian, when I arrived in France I was aware of arriving in the land of gastronomy where we cook well” exclaims Véronique Capon. Successful bet for Véro and his brigade.