Le Duff sells Canadian brands to grow French bakery concepts

Dallas, TX – Le Duff America, an affiliate of French bakery-café business Groupe Le Duff, announced plans to sell two of its Canadian brands, Timothy’s World Coffee and Mmmuffins, to a wholly owned subsidiary of MTY Food Group Inc.

Timothy’s has seven corporate and 30 franchised locations in Canada and two licensed locations in the U.S., and Mmmuffins has four Canadian franchised locations. Le Duff America acquired both brands as part of its purchase of Bruegger’s Bagels in 2011. It has since sold Bruegger’s Bagels to Caribou Coffee to spur growth of its French-heritage brands, including La Madeleine French Bakery & Café, Brioche Dorée and Mimi’s.

The sale will be completed by early April. Le Duff America will continue Canadian operations from its Montreal office, which supports its Montreal Au Pain Doré brand and Brioche Dorée cafés in Montreal and Toronto as well as airport locations in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

“As with our recent sale of Bruegger’s Bagels, we have found an excellent organization to steward the future of Timothy’s and Mmmuffins brands while continuing to strengthen our position for rapid growth with our French-heritage brands,” said Le Duff America chief executive officer Olivier Poirot.

Brioche Dorée, founded in 1976 by Louis Le Duff in Brest, France, sells Parisian-style and urban French cuisine, including breads, pastries, sandwiches and soups. Its U.S. launch will be led by Julie Hauser-Blanner, who joined Le Duff America in mid-2017 as the first U.S.-based Brioche Dorée president.

In addition to the Brioche Dorée expansion, Le Duff America is refranchising its La Madeleine brand and is continuing to open new markets for the French bakery and café concept.