Bel Group doubles capacity in Vietnam

Bel Group announced the expansion of its production site in Vietnam, with an opening ceremony held in the presence of Stéphane Dupays, chief operations officer of Bel Group, Jean-Christophe Coubat, chief Asia officer of Bel Group, Thibaut Giroux, president of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam, representatives of local authorities as well as institutional and business partners.

This €16.7 million investment will enable Bel to double its production capacity to 20,000 tons per year and support a market share exceeding 70% in the cheese category across both modern retail and traditional trade, including The Laughing Cow, Belcube and Kiri brands.

Construction will begin at the end of January 2026, with building hand-over scheduled for March 2027. The site will serve key export markets across Southeast Asia, China, Japan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The expansion will also include a pilot line dedicated to research, innovation & development (RID), for product innovation, optimising recipes and testing new formats tailored to regional usage patterns and nutritional needs. It will also see headcount increase from 188 employees to approximately 400 in the long term. Present in Vietnam since 2011, and starting with an initial production capacity of approximately 4,000 tons per year, Bel Group invested nearly €13 million in 2015 to build a new plant with a capacity of 10,000 tons per year, equivalent to more than three million portions per week, primarily under The Laughing Cow brand (Con Bò Cười).

Asia plays a central role in Bel’s global growth strategy, the company says. The group has strengthened its regional footprint through targeted investments, including the acquisition of a 70% stake in Shandong Junjun Cheese in China in 2022 and the inauguration of a new production facility dedicated to Britannia The Laughing Cow in 2024. In Indonesia, Bel has acquired a 22.5% minority stake in Mulia Boga Raya, combining Bel’s global expertise with deep local market knowledge.

On this occasion, Dupays said, “Vietnam is one of Bel’s most dynamic markets in Asia and a cornerstone of our regional strategy. This expansion reflects our long-term confidence in the country and our ambition to make Vietnam a major industrial hub serving local consumers and the entire ASEAN region, while maintaining the highest standards of quality, safety and sustainability.”