La Nougatière : a project to make the nougat shine again
The June 12, 2019
Marion Delade, student at Toulouse INP-ENSEEIHT tells us about her project to rebuild a company that combines her career with her family tradition legacy. The young woman, who grew up in Provence, has always supported her parents with their nougat manufacturing company founded in 2007. During her studies at Toulouse INP-ENSEEIHT, this job became a real intrapreneurship project. Her project received the 1st price at Entrep' 2019 Occitanie and it is selected, to be presented, at the Public Investment Bank, BPI France in Paris!
Why did you choose to work on this project?
The nougat made by my parents is a soft, artisanal nougat, made according to tradition in copper cauldrons. Its taste is incomparable from any other nougats that can be found. Our family company value are strong and very important to me, I support French crafts, local productions, and products in which we find only the necessary ingredients. After several summers working on food markets, I notice the increasing rate of unscrupulous competitors - especially in Provence (very expensive nougat import, full of fat sugar nougat (much more than honey), abusive sales techniques, etc. .) I decided it was time to add value to this product and make it "noble", such as chocolate or macaroons.
How did you manage to set up this project?
With the help of my school to take a year off, I can now work full time on La Nougatière’s project. I am very grateful to ENSEEIHT, because despite the fact that my approach does not fit exactly in the various fields of the study taught, I was able to benefit from various supports such as a development of my schedule, a place in the pre-incubator NSTART, and appointments with accounting experts, data protection, etc ….
La Nougatière, is it only nougat?
I worked a lot on several recipes, but I realised that it would not be enough. To succeed in changing the image people have of nougat ("it sticks to your teeth", "it's for Christmas", "it's too sweet", etc.), you have to break with what already exists. So I developed a new concept. A mouthful of soft nougat, but not only ... Being still at the beginning of the project, unfortunately I can not reveal more about the product for now, except that we call these bites “des Marquises ».
What is this new concept that you have created? 
Our main focus is to give a new vision to the nougat and make it appealing again. Among the product quality, expertise and innovation, we also find the whole visual dimension. The nougat appearence is essential for our brand. Les Marquises are like gustative jewels.
Where are you in your project?
We intend in our business plan to start marketing our products in 2020, the year I finish my studies. 2019 is a year to set up all the solutions in terms of production, packaging, communication, ect .. We are also creating an ambassador group: people who are sensitive to our problem and who wish to support us in our development. To become an ambassador you have to taste our products, answer questionnaires and share your enthusiasm in your network. You can request the status via our website www.lanougatiere.fr
The nougat, it is far from your studies at Toulouse INP-ENSEEIHT, how do you bring together your projects?
I am a pastry lover but first and foremost I am passionate about science and more specifically about mechanics. I am therefore a student in fluid mechanics, and I was able during my studies to acquire a certain number of skills in mechanical design. Thanks to this I was able, beyond the idea of the new product, to create from scratch the tools essential for our production. I am also preparing my project for something bigger, but I can not say more, you will have to be patient for now …
