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In 1650, the Brasserie Motte Cordonnier was set up in the town of Armentières. Ten generations later, the descendants of its founder have taken on a crazy challenge: to relaunch the family business and take up where history left off. It’s a venture that has brought together 15 members of the same tribe including Sophie Motte (who graduated the Grande École Program in 2019), giving the perfect illustration of the famous quote by Mark Twain: “They didn’t know it was impossible, so they did it!”

You started work while at the same time embarking on a business project with your family. Can you tell us more?
We had been mulling over the idea of relaunching the brewery for several years, but the real trigger was the death of our grandfather, Bertrand Motte, who was the last manager of the brewery. There was no way we could say goodbye to 370 years of family history. At the time, I was doing a marketing internship in Brussels and then in Lyon, so it was difficult for me to get 100% involved in the venture, but I made sure I came home to take part in key events and decision-making. At the end of my internship with Blédina, I decided to continue working in the food industry by joining Traditional World Foods as a sector manager. What’s unusual about this venture is that we are all either having a job or studying. Only Henry, the oldest cousin, is now working 100% on the project.

When and how did you relaunch the brewery?
The starting point for its renaissance was in 2019 with the creation of the Brasseries Motte-Cordonnier company. There are 15 of us – all part of the same family and united by this wonderful project. Former employees, distributors, suppliers, and local history buffs have all been kind enough to help us gather information, take the right decisions and choose the right recipes.

What is your role in this family business?
I love customer relations, I attend all events whenever I can (markets, point of sale events and events like “Bières à Lille”). I also help my cousins with the social media side, I really like taking photographs. Each of us brings something to the project based on our studies and skills. There is no obligation or hierarchy, just a desire to have fun and get things done.

How do you see the future of the brewery?
The historic premises are not available for the moment. In the meantime, our production facilities are at the Ruche d’Entreprises in Armentières, which is allowing us to develop and structure our company. We want to reinvest in the historic building by 2023, it’s the building which encapsulates the history of the project. For the moment, I am working on it alongside my other job, but who knows what the future holds?

Is your IÉSEG training useful to you in this venture?
Working as a family is just like doing a big group project at IÉSEG! You have to know how to listen, respect different opinions and work with different personalities. What IÉSEG taught me was how to move forward as a team, to feel comfortable in relationships, to develop marketing and negotiation skills. It also helped me discover and love beers… in moderation, of course!

This article was written by Luna Créations for IÉSEG Network’s magazine, IÉS #11.