What Ducros does

Ducros is a French producer and distributor of peppers, herbs, spices, seasoning blends, culinary aids, and dessert aids, headquartered in Avignon and founded in 1988. The company is a brand subsidiary of McCormick & Company, Inc. (NYSE: MKC), a US-listed global flavorings group. Ducros operates in France, Belgium, and Spain through country-specific websites and serves primarily home cooks and culinary enthusiasts through grocery and supermarket retail channels.

The product portfolio spans core categories (pepper and salt including grinders, individual herbs, individual spices, pre-mixed blends for cuisines ranging from French and Mediterranean to Asian, Indian, Mexican, Oriental, and Creole) plus specialty sub-brands including Gamme Bio (EU organic certified), Gamme 100% récoltée France (locally sourced ingredients), Gamme Première Saveur (fresh-tasting herbs), Gamme Truffe (truffle-based), and culinary aids such as breadcrumbs, sauces, Air Fryer preparations, and fried onions. Ducros holds the Herbes de Provence Label Rouge certification, signaling superior quality in that category. Marketing relies on a content-led GTM: an extensive recipe database organized by cuisine, dish type, ingredient, and occasion, supplemented by Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest social channels, email registration for "flavor profile" personalization, and SEO optimized for searches such as Poivre, Poulet, Barbecue, and Fajitas.

The business model is straightforward retail CPG: Ducros sells packaged spices and culinary aids one-time through grocery and supermarket shelves in French-speaking and adjacent European markets. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Revenue is not reported separately from McCormick's consolidated financials. As a brand unit within a Fortune 500 flavorings group, Ducros benefits from McCormick's distribution, sourcing, and R&D scale but operates as a marketing-driven consumer brand with no disclosed proprietary technology, software, or AI capabilities.

Name

Ducros

Legal name

Ducros (Brand of McCormick & Company, Inc.)

Website

https://ducros.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Ducros is a French spice, herb, and culinary aid brand owned by McCormick & Company. It produces peppers, herbs, spices, blends, and cooking aids, selling primarily to home cooks through grocery retail channels in France, Belgium, and Spain.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Spices and Seasonings (Consumer Packaged Goods)

NAICS

Food Manufacturing (311)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Ground & Powdered Spices (AFAJANAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Chili & Heat Ingredients (Chili Powders, Flakes, Paprika, Capsicum Extracts) (AFAJANAG), Wet Seasonings & Pastes (Curry Pastes, Harissa, Gochujang, Spice Pastes) (AFAJANAI)

Keywords

• Spices and herbs
• Seasoning blends
• Culinary aids
• Pepper mills
• Organic seasonings

Headquarters

HQ city

Avignon

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Consumer packaged goods sales: Ducros generates revenue through the sale of spices, herbs, seasoning blends, and culinary aids to retail consumers. Products are sold through grocery stores, supermarkets, and potentially online retailers as one-time purchase transactions. The brand offers multiple product ranges including Bio/organic, 100% France locally sourced, Premium, and specialty lines (BBQ, Truffle, Air Fryer) targeting different consumer needs and price points.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Ducros produces and distributes peppers and salts (including pepper and salt mills), dried and fresh herbs, individual spices (curry, truffle, premium, chili), pre-mixed spice blends for world cuisines, organic certified (Bio) lines, 100% French-harvested products, and culinary aids such as breadcrumbs, sauces, Air Fryer preparations, and fried onions. The brand targets home cooks and culinary enthusiasts in French-speaking European markets including France, Belgium, and Spain.

Product overview

Ducros is a French spice and herb brand offering a comprehensive portfolio of seasoning products. The core offering spans peppers and salts (including pepper and salt mills), individual herbs (with local France-sourced, organic, and fresh-tasting varieties), individual spices (including Premium, curry, pepper, and truffle lines), and pre-mixed spice blends for various world cuisines. The brand also offers culinary aids such as breadcrumbs, sauces, Air Fryer preparations, and fried onions. Products are organized into sub-brands including Gamme Bio (organic), Gamme 100% récoltée France (100% French-harvested), Gamme Première Saveur (fresh-tasting herbs), and Gamme Truffe (truffle-based products). The company is part of McCormick & Company, Inc.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Les Poivres et Sels Pepper and salt products including whole peppers, pepper mills, and salt mills for table and kitchen seasoning.
• Les Herbes Dried and fresh herbs including Provençal herbs, local French herbs, and the Première Saveur line for home cooking.
• Les Epices Individual spices including the Premium line, curries, peppers, and truffle range.
• Les Mélanges d'épices Pre-mixed spice blends for various world cuisines including French everyday, American, Asian, Indian, Mediterranean, Mexican, Oriental, and Creole.
• Gamme Bio Organic certified herbs, spices, and peppers meeting EU organic standards for consumers seeking organic seasoning options.
• Gamme 100% récoltée France Products made exclusively from ingredients harvested in France, supporting local French agriculture.
• Gamme Première Saveur Fresh-tasting herbs designed to retain their flavor and aroma for seasoning.
• Gamme Truffe Truffle-based spice products including truffle seasoning for gourmet dishes.
• Aides Culinaires Culinary aids including breadcrumbs, recipe preparations, sauces, Air Fryer preparations, and fried onions for convenient home cooking.
• Les Moulins Poivres Pepper mills for grinding whole peppercorns at the table.
• Les Moulins Sels Salt mills for grinding sea salt at the table.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cannamela: Italian branded spice and herb manufacturer sold across Italian and adjacent retail; comparable packaged-spice positioning in another major Southern European market similar to Ducros's France/Belgium/Spain footprint.
• Badia Spices: Large US-based spice brand with broad grocery presence and strong Latin-cuisine seasoning lines; comparable in breadth of SKUs, retail-channel model, and family-owned / PE-owned brand dynamics.
• Fuchs Gewürze: Germany's largest family-owned spice manufacturer serving both retail and foodservice with branded spice, herb, and seasoning lines across European grocery channels - directly comparable product mix and distribution model to Ducros.
• Verstegen Spices & Sauces: Dutch spice and sauce brand with similar retail-spice positioning across Europe; comparable sub-brand architecture (organic, blends, single-origin) and retail-channel dependence make it a close European analogue.
• Herbaria: German organic-first spice and herb brand with emphasis on single-origin, fair-trade and Bio-certified products; directly comparable to Ducros's Gamme Bio and Provençal/herb positioning.
• Santa Maria AB: Nordic-headquartered spice and world-cuisine brand (owned by Orkla) operating across UK, Nordics, Baltics with packaged spices, herbs, blends, and cooking aids directly analogous to Ducros's range.
• Penzeys Spices: US specialty spice retailer with broad catalog of single spices, blends, and recipe content - a comparable branded spice-and-content model, though with stronger DTC emphasis than Ducros.

Broad incumbents

• McCormick & Company, Inc. Direct parent and global flavor leader; Ducros sits inside McCormick's broad seasoning portfolio alongside Schwartz, Spice Islands, Lawry's and others, sharing sourcing, R&D, and distribution networks.

Others

• Schwartz (McCormick brand): UK spice and recipe-mix brand now part of McCormick's portfolio alongside Ducros; an adjacent sister brand rather than a competitor, useful as a benchmark for McCormick's European spice strategy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/pereducros
• Instagraminstagram.com/ducrosofficiel
• Pinterestpinterest.fr/ducrosofficiel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ducros

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ducros