Out have gone the traditional clogs that have been part of salad cooperative Val Nantais’s logo for the past 25 years, to be replaced by a simplified image much more in-keeping with the so-called new agriculture increasingly followed at the group since it joined Terrena in October 2014.
“La nouvelle agriculture” describes the way in which western French farmers work to rebuild a strong, direct link with consumers, and Val Nantais’s stated aim is to have 50 per cent of its volumes sold in this way by 2020.
Val Nantais’s merger last month with Rives de Loire has doubled its volumes, according to Végétable, with Val Nantais producing 13,000 tonnes, Rives de Loire 10,000 tonnes and the latter’s subsidiary Maillard producing 14,000 tonnes.
Concerning lamb’s lettuce, Val Nantais remains the second biggest producer in Nantes, cultivating 9,000 of the region’s 33,000 tonnes. The 4,500 tonnes produced by Rives de Loire will also partly be sold by Val Nantais, with part of the volume remaining under contract with partner Fruidor.
“The commercial teams of the two groups are extremely complementary,” explained Samuel Praud, commercial director of Val Nantais, “since we mainly target the French market while Rives de Loire has great expertise exporting to Europe, which allows us to fulfil regular contracts of major volumes.”
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