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“Doing business in the UK is very written-orientated and straight forward” - in conversation with Helene Fisher, Brioche Pasquier

We spoke to Helene Fisher, Commercial Director at Brioche Pasquier UK about her thoughts on doing business in the UK, the challenges that she faced, and what to expect this year from the business.

Thanks a lot for your time Hélène. Could you tell us why Brioche Pasquier chose to settle in the UK?

Even though our products are traditionally French, every country and culture in the world makes a sweet baked product of some kind. Therefore, our products are very adaptable and easily understood by people. The UK market was an attractive market to the company for its geographical closeness to France on one hand and the openness of British consumers to different food trends on the other.

On a more personal note, I have chosen to move to the UK as I thought there were greater job opportunities and career growth over there than in France.

How do you find doing business in the UK, compared to France? What are the challenges?

I find that relationships between employees are much less hierarchical in the UK compared to France, which gives responsibility and importance to every single individual for the benefit of creativity and progress.

Doing business in the UK is very written orientated, straight forward and with a lot of etiquettes which I personally have an affection for. In the UK, you don’t sell just a product but the whole customer service that goes with it, so even though you have the greatest products, if your customers are not appreciating the experience that comes with it, then they won’t stay. But in France, I think product quality comes first, especially in food. 

In terms of the current situation of doing business at Brioche Pasquier, the challenges we face are the same across Europe; recruitment is volatile, supply and cost of raw materials are unstable and unpredictable.

What’s on the horizon for 2023? For your company and for business in general?

Hopefully, this year is not going to be as challenging as the last one, which had been very heavily focused on Cost Price Increases coming from the raw materials and the energy crisis hitting the company quite consequently. We see 2023 as being a year of building more holistic relationships with our clients, and their different teams, to build common strategic goals and work together in a more collaborative way.

2023 is also an exciting year for us as we will be opening our brand new production line of Pitch products (individually filled wrapped brioches) to comfort and increase our steady growth of +17% year-over-year. This new production line will be making around 400,000 individual brioches a day and will enable us to have fresher products, different innovative flavours and more capabilities to grow volume in the UK and Ireland. Pitch is a sister brand of Brioche Pasquier and is very popular amongst kids. I grew up with this brand and have always been very loyal to it. Now being a mom myself, I find it gratifying to think that my children will grow up with this brand too, despite not living in France.

What advice would you give to a French entrepreneur who wants to settle in the UK?

I would advise having a clear convincing plan, being patient and delivering great customer service. Do not underestimate small talk and know how to make a good cup of tea.

Finally, what do you hope to get out of your French Chamber membership this year? 

The Chamber has always been a good way to network with companies who understand the same challenges and opportunities and learn from them, so I hope that it will continue this year.

Brioche Pasquier is a French family bakery since 1936, that offers a variety of French baked goods, including brioche bread, croissants, pain au lait, and other pastries.