Chosen to accelerate Mepal’s development in France, Nicolas Markuc shares with us the brand’s new ambitions, as it plans to launch three new product categories in 2025. This broad range of offerings is expected to help the Dutch brand break into new retail channels, including large-scale distribution. Its strength lies in its advanced design approach and high-quality products made locally.
Arriving last autumn as Commercial Director for France, Nicolas Markuc has discovered a well-established company with a strong capital base and all the assets needed to grow in the French market, where it is already firmly implanted. Mepal’s premium ranges are dedicated to specialized retail, department stores (Galeries Lafayette, BHV), and key retailers like Boulanger and Monoprix. With the support of Mélanie Cacault, the brand’s long-time manager for France who works from the Netherlands, Nicolas Markuc has been given free rein to ensure Mepal is known and recognised in France and other countries, such as Germany, where it has been a leading name for several decades.
He has the advantage of promoting a very fine company that adopted a CSR approach long before it became the norm (B Corp certification in 2024). It also has a longstanding partnership with social workshops where people with disabilities thrive. Nicolas Markuc tells us: « When I first met with the management and teams at Mepal, I was immediately struck by the integrity and sincerity of their words and their way of doing business.
This quality is highly appreciated by the company’s partners and clients, who work with it in trust. Mepal is renowned for being in harmony with its environment and its goal of being part of a sustainable economy. Everything it claims in its brand message can be verified. Throughout the course of their relationship, clients don’t waste time, as the company has put everything in place to ensure it can meet its commitments. » Always favouring local manufacturing (products are made in the Netherlands, with the exception of glass and steel, which account for only 3% of turnover), its internally developed, design-driven products stand out for their functionality, aesthetics, and quality. This is how it makes a significant difference in a highly competitive market.
MEPAL EXPANDS ITS BRAND TERRITORY
2025 will see the launch of three new product categories, allowing Mepal to cover an even broader range of everyday life. Already established in the fields of food storage, on-the-go products, and reusable tableware, the Dutch brand is making a notable entrance into the kitchen utensil world, presenting an innovative solution in the sports sector, and professionally investing in the world of childcare.
For the kitchen, Mepal brings a complete collection of colourful, practical, fun, and clever accessories that will make it highly desirable. Everything is manufactured in the Netherlands and Germany, except for the glass and steel components. This range also introduces a new material developed by the brand: a plastic incorporating fiberglass, making the products lighter and more resistant.
In the sports sector, Mepal makes a big impact with the launch of a collection designed to address the specific needs of each sport. It offers products tailored to cyclists, runners, team sports players, and more, with a different solution for each discipline. This range is expected to help the brand expand within specialised retail outlets.
Finally, Mepal is broadening its children’s range with « infant and early years » solutions. Its bottles, developed with technical precision, feature the latest-generation valves and teats. « With the expansion of its product line, Mepal is equipping itself with products that enable it to offer the right product in the right store, ensuring full customer satisfaction », says Nicolas Markuc. These new products will be showcased for the first time at the Ambiente trade fair in Frankfurt in February 2025.
MEPAL STRENGHTENS ITS PRESENCE IN FRANCE
Mepal will also be present at Maison&Objet in January in the ‘Smart Gift’ sector to showcase its historical references to the French market, which it aims to develop. ‘Building on the quality work done over the past few years by Mélanie Cacault, our goal in France is to strengthen the brand’s awareness and expand its influence into distribution, offering a range distinct from what we offer in specialised retail. Mepal’s product range is broad enough to allow us to have a segmented vision and respond to both networks without the risk of cannibalisation, while protecting the interests of independents. They will benefit from the new resources allocated to the brand in France to increase its visibility. This will notably include a strong presence online and on social media.
The volumes generated in mass retail allow for profits that support the brand’s research and development. This enables it to offer its premium partners innovative products that set them apart from the competition. It’s a virtuous circle where everyone wins. In retail, our goal is to have a presence across France within the next 5 years, with personalised support for our partners, to whom we want to offer a full range of services’.
AN OFFER FOR THE HORECA SECTOR
With its reusable tableware solutions, Mepal is also expanding in the HORECA sector, where it meets the specific needs of fast-food chains now required to serve their menus in durable tableware. « The quality of Mepal products is particularly suited to intensive use » explains Nicolas Markuc, who, with 10 years of experience at Arc, is particularly familiar with the food service industry.
Source : Home Fashion News – January 2025
