Marie-Astrid Maenhout - Participant 2020-2021
“This Prince Albert Fund project enabled me to develop a multitude of new professional skills in just one year.”
Role
The objective of Marie-Astrid’s project was to further support the La Lorraine Bakery Group (LLGB)’s international growth strategy by expanding its business to the new territory of North America.
Responsibilities
During the first phase of her mission, Marie-Astrid defined the scope of a research study in order to manage customers’ expectations, as North America comprises two large markets, the US and Canada. She then set out a clear roadmap for achieving the deliverables. During the second phase, she focused on developing the commercial activities.
How she benefited
This experience opened up a whole new world for her as this was the first time that she was also responsible for what comes next, i.e. the implementation of the recommendations.
“You thus become accountable for the success of your own recommendation”, she explains. “The increased responsibility for putting your recommendation into practice was exactly what I was looking for in a Prince Albert Fund project”.
The company – La Lorraine Bakery Group (LLBG)
The La Lorraine Bakery Group (LLBG) is a 100% Belgian-owned family company active in the European milling and baking sectors. It has been the Belgian market leader for bread and pastries that are prepared fresh daily for over 50 years. Its products are distributed in 2,300 supermarkets. The group also sells its high-quality bakery products worldwide,
in more than 25 countries.
“Marie-Astrid succeeded in immersing herself in the two markets of North America, gathering market intelligence. These new insights formed the basis for a well-grounded market entrance strategy, in which the sales models were mapped out in detail.”