“We sell eight million sausages a year, and we make 25% of our turnover during the Tour de France period.”

The Cochonou brand was created in 1971 in the Monts du Lyonnais, in the capital of dry sausage in Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise. The Cochonou caravan has been on the Tour de France for 26 years. The guest of “A vos marques” is Patrick Bombart, marketing group manager at Aoste, the parent company of the brand

Patrick Bombart is the marketing group manager at Aoste, the parent company of the Cochonou sausage brand, which has been displayed on the red and white 2CVs of the Tour de France for 26 years. Cochonou is one of the oldest partners of the Grande Boucle advertising caravan. The brand was born in 1971 in the Monts du Lyonnais in Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise.

A limited presence in 1997 on the Grande Boucle and immediately, success. “It immediately ‘matched’ with the brand, explains Patrick Bombartand we decided to put more emphasis from 99, with the presence of the famous 2CVs that you know today.”

24 people run the Cochonou caravan on the Tour, which meets nearly 10 million spectators on the roadsides. “10 million smiles during three weeks of the Tour de France. We are distributing 500,000 small bags of sausages, and we are having them tasted on the starting lines and on the finish line.”

The favourite stages are mainly the mountain stages where the public is very present and waits for us at every turn to encourage us. “And the spectators encourage the riders to go through the bends as much as the two horses to climb the passes.”

With nearly 8 million sausages sold per year, or more than 20,000 sausages purchased per day, it’s a large volume, underlines Patrick Bombart: “We represent about 4 to 5% of the dry sausage market in supermarkets, and we specialize in more traditional sausages. A pleasure market, a market that is still growing, at +1 this year”

On the composition of dry sausage sold in supermarkets, and on nitrites considered possibly carcinogenic, Cochonou says it has removed all its preservatives, including nitrite salts, “for about 50% of our volumes today. We were at 0% in 2019, and we have a goal of 100% of our products being preservative-free by 2030.”

The brand also says it has launched a vast decarbonization plan, with the goal of moving to 100% recyclable packaging. By 2030, “the objective will be met”assures Patrick Bombart.