At Hénaff, that's our credo. For over 100 years, we've been striving to do better. Better for the region, for communities, for consumers, for the planet and for living things. Today, our independence enables us to imagine and implement a more virtuous, fairer and more collaborative model. We do our utmost to ensure that our actions and our products reflect this.
Doing everything locally isn’t easy. And to do it responsibly, you have to be resourceful. Even stubborn. And just as well, we’re from Brittany! For years, we’ve been working hard to do better, and we’re making progress. In this section, we tell you about the local, responsible supply chain we’re building together. Respect for the environment, improved animal welfare, fair trade… We’re proud of how far we’ve come, but we’re also aware of and focused on what remains to be done. You can find many more details in our CSR 2020 report.
Every day, we strive to improve the quality of our products and our impact on the world.
But we never lose sight of one thing: we create products that must give pleasure to those who taste them – not to say devour them.
Between quality and indulgence, there’s a whole alchemy to be found so that, when we propose something to you, you can say to yourself: here, they’re going to do themselves good and what’s more, they’re going to enjoy themselves.
For us, less is more. That’s why we’ve always had one guiding principle that dictates our Research and Development: the shorter the list of ingredients, the better the product. We avoid incorporating the famous unknown or controversial ingredients into our recipes. In the late 2000s, we were the first to remove nitrite salts (E250) from our pâtés. Better still, our sausages, launched in 1995, have never contained any additives. Why make things complicated when you can make them good?
If you look hard enough, you’ll see that there’s a lot you can do locally. Of course, it requires a different kind of organization, but in many cases it’s possible. If, for example, it seems obvious to you that the pork we use for our Pâtés Hénaff or our sausages is 100% local, you’re 100% right. This has always been the case. But did you also know that the tin of our famous Pâté Hénaff is produced by a company in Douarnenez (a 3h37-minute walk from Pouldreuzic). And we’ve been working with them for over 100 years, because centenarians have to stick together!
For us, this adventure has been a family affair for 4 generations. Our culture is therefore strongly influenced by the notion of heritage. It’s one of the fundamental notions that guides us and drives our governance to take into account future generations and the environment we’ll be leaving them. To achieve this, preserving our financial independence and keeping a human scale are the sine qua non conditions that guarantee our freedom and agility.
For us, knowing where the food we eat comes from is the most important thing.
At Hénaff, we can guarantee the origin of all the ingredients in our products.
In some cases, we even go so far as to include a photo of the farmer; in fact, in 2005, we were one of the first food brands to do so in France, so cock-a-doodle-doo… or rather, snout-a-doodle-doo!
For us, a company’s economic success is best illustrated by its ability to support the cultural and heritage life of its region.
In other words, it’s important to us that our company is both a player and a driving force in Brittany’s associative fabric.
Sharing is one of our fundamental values, and our actions in favor of the cultural milieu are one of the ways in which we express this.
As a brand, we know how lucky we are to be loved by our consumers. And we’re very, very lucky. We do our best to return the favor by staying close to you, listening to your needs and desires. We’d like to be even more collaborative than we already are. It takes time, but we’re working on it, because we’re happy to know that we can count on you, so we hope you’re sure that we can count on you.
For as long as we’ve been around, several generations have worked in our workshops.
Today, while certain techniques and production methods have nothing in common with those of the past, certain skills have been handed down and perpetuated from generation to generation.
We are the heirs to a long history, which we continue to write with respect for tradition and craftsmanship.
In short, we try to keep things simple.
It’s not for nothing that we’re so involved with the association Produit en Bretagne, whose aim is to defend local employment – Loïc Hénaff has been its Chairman for the last 6 years.
It’s important to remember that Jean Hénaff originally set up the Hénaff company to help his farmer friends make the most of their pea and green bean production. It was a way for him to combat poverty and the exodus from the Pays Bigouden. Well, if the context has changed a little since 1907 (we now have Wi-Fi), this idea hasn’t moved one iota: we remain convinced that promoting local employment in every way we can is the best way to participate in the life and development of our region.
“For over 100 years, our family business has worked in harmony with nature.
Our elders didn’t call it sustainable development, it was an instinct, a conviction that it was a good thing.”
Loîc Hénaff
We need 12.6 tons of pepper a year for our recipes. We have to admit that it’s a bit complicated to find them in Brittany. In 2008, together with 280 Santomean growers, we set up an organic pepper cooperative on the island of Sao Tomé – in Africa. All our pepper comes from there. As part of a multi-year partnership, we pay part of the production in advance (a bit like the AMAPs in France) and guarantee a fixed price: just because we have to go and find pepper far from home doesn’t mean we have to leave our principles at home.
Self-sufficiency and water management have always been at the heart of our business, which was originally steam-powered. Right from the start of our adventure, we were aware that water is a precious resource, and that saving and preserving it was a matter of course. In 1950, we built our own water tower and, in 1958 – a remarkable feat for the time – we installed a wastewater treatment system, which was overhauled in 2008 with the construction of a biological treatment and spreading plant. Today, the result is that our water contains less nitrates than the water we pumped in.
Doing better also means answering all your questions! When it comes to questions, as with everything else, you need to know your classics. That's why we've listed the most frequently asked questions in an FAQ that you'll want to read in its entirety if you're one of those people who likes to read instruction manuals!
If you can't find what you're looking for in the FAQ - which can happen - ask your questions directly to Jildaz, our community manager, on our social networks.
As you know, the Hénaff brand is part of the Jean Hénaff Group – named after the great-grandfather of Loïc Hénaff, the company’s current CEO. Since alone we go faster, but together we go further, we also let you discover this ambitious roadmap designed to have a positive impact on our region… but not only.
For the more inquisitive among you, you can consult the Jean Hénaff Group’s 2023 CSR report. Normally, everything you want to know is there. It’s quite detailed and complete, even if, as the good agri-food company that we are, we’ve tried to include images and a few graphs to make it more digestible 😉 . In any case, it’s our reference document if you want to understand and see everything we’re trying to do better to do good.
Jean Hénaff SAS is part of the first class of companies
labelled Bretagne 26 000 by Produit en Bretagne. This label is the first
territorial CSR label and incorporates the basic principles of the international standard
ISO 26000. The “Bretagne 26000” label focuses on local recruitment, assistance to
integration, local purchasing and educational initiatives. Within the
Hénaff has already deployed a number of initiatives, such as :
create lasting links with local suppliers, respect the interests
of customers and consumers, and develop working conditions
responsible.
For us, respect for others and for the living is the basis of any system that seeks to be virtuous. This value is the foundation on which we have been building day after day since 1907.
For us, sharing is a tremendous source of joy and positive impact. As a company that has always been based in Pouldreuzic, we believe that sharing value is an asset for our region. We support many local initiatives because sharing is a priceless value.
For us, changing the world means doing what we can, where we are. If we know how much our times need commitment and strong actions to reinvent themselves, we also know how necessary it is to keep in mind our individual limits and the importance of the collective.
For us, being demanding means striving to do better. Every day, we pursue this quest for excellence to bring you good, well-made products.
For us, innovation only makes sense if it means doing things better. In other words, doing good. Improving the nutritional value of our products, reducing our impact on the environment, reinventing production and distribution channels, creating amazing new recipes... We are committed to putting our research and development efforts into projects that make good sense... good sense.
We're proud that our products are associated with a friendly image. Because that's one of our cardinal daily values: to do things seriously, but without taking ourselves too seriously. It's in the Breton DNA, and we're happy to keep this heritage alive.