Made in abbeys

Business is brisk for monks and nuns in France

A bar of soap is pictured at the Saint-Vincent abbey in Chantelle.

far from unique to France, and is at least as developed in Germany and to a lesser extent in Britain.

BRISK BUSINESS

Across France, some 250 to 300 communities dedicated to prayer sell products or services. From biscuits to jam and honey, to gluten-free products and organic vegetables, men and women of the cloth have expanded into a variety of businesses.

The Abbey of St Wandrille, founded in 649, restarted the production of monastic beer last year with great success. The community has sold more than 100,000 bottles in less than a year, more than half on site.

The Grande Chartreuse monastery, in

Isere, has experienced even greater success marketing its alcohol. It distills a liqueur, created from a mix of 130 plants, that has a natural green colour - the exact recipe only known by two of the abbey’s monks. The business now employs 58 people in its factory in Voiron and had some 17 million euros in sales in 2015.

Citeaux Abbey, in Burgundy, known for its washed rind cheese made from cow’s milk, posted 1.2 million euros in sales last year. Much of the cheese is sold on-site but also in places as far away as Dubai, Montreal and Tokyo.

“Fifteen days ago, I received a call from a company that helps businesses in difficulty,” explained Father Jean-Claude.

“I told him: Yes, I have a problem. We produce 120,000 cheeses a year, but we have demand for more than 160,000!”

To protect the image of their products and avoid unfair competition, more than 200 communities have formed an association and created the “Monastic” mark to certify the authenticity of products from monasteries.

But despite the growth of some of their businesses, some analysts argue that many monasteries lack opportunities to expand.

“The vast majority of communities have modest productions because the place of the work remains very limited,” said MarieCatherine Paquier, author of a thesis on the purchase of monastic products.

The total market for “Made in Abbeys” products is estimated to be 75 million euros a year, she said.