The international brand VEJA has just announced that it is starting production in Portugal. Although production is limited to the V-90 model, for the time being, the goal is clear: to find production in Europe to serve European consumers. At a time when so much is being said about the various areas of sustainability, are we looking at nearshoring in a new light?

The article in Vogue Business sets the perfect tone for this reflection: "Made in Europe, sold in Europe: How Veja evolved a nearshoring strategy”.

But let’s start at the beginning of this history. VEJA was created 20 years ago by two childhood friends, Sébastien Kopp and François-Ghislain Morillion. Although the brand is based in France, a trip to Brazil marked the beginning of a deep bond with the country. Sébastien and François met the organic cotton producers and wild rubber tappers and decided to set up production in Brazil.

Now, two decades later, a European supply line has been established. The Portuguese company Samba is responsible for this. This move will allow European consumers to purchase the exclusive colours of the V-90 model, the brand’s bestseller, produced in Europe. "The creation of a European supply chain, specifically to serve the European market, marks the first time Veja products have been made outside of Brazil”, explains the Vogue Business article. The brand’s co-founder Sébastien Kopp explains to the magazine: "Between 2015 and today, we’ve reached a saturation point in our Brazilian factories. We are also continuously growing, so it was natural to look for a new production hub, [and] we quickly came up with the idea of ‘made in Europe, sold in Europe’ — producing pairs in Europe and selling them in Europe only”.

For VEJA, the idea of manufacturing in Portugal (which first arose in 2020) came quickly, but the making it happen process has been "very long”, notes Kopp. The common language with Brazil and its geographical location made Portugal a natural choice, as did the country’s centuries of experience in footwear manufacturing. Although the move to Portugal is a significant one, it is one that the founders have thought long and hard about. VEJA produces around four million pairs of shoes a year. Since the start of production in Portugal in January 2023, supplier Samba has produced around 80,000 pairs.

VEJA is also now sourcing materials from Europe, including Leather Working Group (LWG) gold-certified leather from Portugal and Italy (and possibly Spain in the future).

Unlike the South American supply chain, which VEJA knows in detail, the Portuguese leather supply chain is still a work in progress. The founders are working to fully map the leather. "As a consequence, the brand is leaning more heavily on the certification factor, opening up the brand to multiple unknowns, particularly at the pre-tannery level that covers key issues such as welfare and deforestation”. "VEJA’s sourcing team is actively working on engaging [the LWG] to ensure complete traceability of the entire supply chain”, says Kopp to the media. "We are also working with Portuguese suppliers to develop new materials that can be sourced and used domestically to decrease our dependence on imported materials from Brazil”, he says.