The sweet aromas tickle the nose as soon as you cross the threshold of the Jean et Lisette organic biscuit factory, in Saint-Jean-d’Angély (Charente-Maritime), in the Val Bio Ouest economic activity center, dedicated to organic food. The small factory, which employs 30 people, produces 20,000 cookies, biscuits and other oatmeal crisps each day for a “Sixty references, 80% of which are organic! », specifies Guillaume Meslin, director of the site. Jean et Lisette is the result of “field-to-plate” cooperation between several ecological actors in the region: Charles Kloboukoff, founder of the family business dedicated to organic production Compagnie Léa Nature, businessman and central engineer Maxence d’Audiffret, the flour from Bellot Mill, an independent mill for ten generations, Défibio, the investment fund of the Biocoop store network, Corab, a regional cooperative of 200 organic farmers, on the initiative of this innovative association, supported by local authorities.
Guillaume Meslin adds: “This local and short-circuit approach limits the impact of our activity on climate change. And, in the context of economic, climatic, geopolitical crises and the deconversion of farmers, our cooperation allows us to ensure our supply of raw materials. This is important to maintain our place on the shelves, because mass retailers quickly replace an absent product with a competitor. »
The Jean et Lisette biscuit factory is part of the “SME village” that Charles Kloboukoff, an athletic-looking man in his sixties, has assembled for three decades. That is, 24 production and processing subsidiaries, located mainly in France. “In a town we know each other, we help each other, we are not alone, although we maintain our margin of maneuver daily”underlines the manager, who reinvests 75% of his profits in his group that is not listed on the stock market and has 2,000 employees. “Except in exceptional cases, Léa Nature does not make layoffs, not even in the case of company acquisitions”, says Nadine Bergeon, a CFTC delegate for twenty-seven years. Each site has its identity. In Bazens, in the Lot-et-Garonne, Bioviver prepares organic preserves and food bags. In Feuchy, in Pas-de-Calais, Soup’ideale simmers soups; In Peaugres, in the Ardèche, Ekibio offers a whole range of dishes based on cereals, seeds, pastas, etc.
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