- Discover more about France's biggest online showcase for producers in the Business France Pavilion at IFE this month
“France has long been synonymous with fantastic food and drink,” says Pauline Gauthier of Business France. “And despite trends coming and going, the country’s offering remains at the beating heart of the industry, with thousands of traditional businesses complemented by those that are setting the bar for the 21st Century.”
If French food and drink have fallen off your radar, make a beeline to the Business France’s online marketplace. With thousands of French products listed, there’s no better place to get stuck into all that France has to offer. A small selection of those producers on the website will be exhibiting on the French Pavilion at IFE from March 25th to 27th, offering the chance for a real-life sample of the online platform.
An initiative of Business France – the trade arm of the French Embassy – the Marketplace is a hub of excellence, designed as a highly accessible online one-stop-shop, connecting buyers, importers and distributors with thousands of French companies.
It “gives B2B customers the ability to browse and sample a broad range of food and beverages from French producers,” adds Pauline. “It’s a meeting point for French exporters and British businesses. Perfect for anyone looking to enhance their portfolio. All the exhibitors at the French pavilion are on the Marketplace, facilitating their connections with British buyers, and making British professionals’ lives easier by streamlining sourcing,” she adds. “It’s a fantastic way to enhance your business network.”
The Business France Marketplace is easy to navigate, and allows users to not only request free samples, but also to place orders via producers, who are all ready to export immediately.
Meet the producers
Business France’s Pavilion at the 2024 IFE plays host to 13 unique companies - showcasing a range of French products, which can also be sourced via the online marketplace for those not attending the show. They include:
Coopenoix: A collective of 400 PDO walnut growers, with orchards spanning the French Alps. All members are committed to the highest environmental and agricultural standards. Discover how good walnuts can taste, and more about their health and nutritional credentials. The nuts are available under Coopenoix’s brand, or can be own-label.
Saga Chocolat: Founded by expert pastry chef Jacques Morillon in 2006, the business specialises in frozen desserts made using the best ingredients, combining traditional artisan methods with cutting edge technology.
Plantin: Black truffles (also known as ‘black diamonds’) are prized by chefs and food lovers across the world for their unmistakeably complex, earthy flavour and heady scent. This Provence-based family-run business supplies some of France’s finest restaurants, and has developed techniques to perfectly preserve truffles, offering them frozen or in jars all-year-round.
La Fabrique Cookies: La Fabrique has 14 shops across France, and is renowned for the clean credentials of its cookies and cakes – made with fresh French butter, milk and flour, and packaged in certified biodegradable and compostable cellulose film.
Koki: The number one hazelnut producer in Europe, made up of a cooperative of 350 farm members, who grow both hazelnuts and walnuts to the most stringent standards.
Larnicol: Founded by Georges Larnicol, a former winner of France’s Best Baker. The business is known for the Kouignette – its take on Breton speciality the kouign amann. Available chilled or frozen in individual portions.
Cepasco: Purveyor of spices, condiments and Provencal herbs, with more than 1,000 spices and blends under its own brands and private label. New to the business is Epice Tout – a collection of 20 products that are 100% organic and additive-free.
Patisseries Gourmandes: An expert in the cakes and pastries of Western France, from madeleines to pound cakes, all made with real butter, free-range eggs, and no nasties or palm oil.
Sainte Lucie: Sainte Lucie has been travelling the world since 1885, discovering delicious new ingredients and introducing them to discerning customers. From dried fruits, to spices, nut pastes, essences and extracts.
Famille Michaud: Based in the Pyrenees, Famille Michaud is dedicated to bringing rare and precious honey (as well as agave syrup and maple syrup brands) to the market. The family-run business takes nature seriously, with a charter ensuring it only works with beekeepers whose apiaries are protected from noise and pesticides, and found in rich, fertile grounds, far from pollution. The business also set up a foundation dedicated to saving bees and beekeeping.
Crustaman: Manufacturer of sweets, pralines, chocolates, pastas, cereals and drinks, under private label and its own brand.
Saint Mamet: Experts in fruit – from canned, to individual cups, compotes, and a breakfast range of jams, hazelnut spreads and honey. At IFE Saint Mamet will present its Flavour of the Year 2024 award-winning new Coconut Cocktail, blending peaches, pears, pineapple and crunchy coconut.
Ensemble Foods: A subsidiary of Tereos – a cooperative of farms across France. The brand’s vision is to bring affordable plant-based products to the market, aimed at vegans, vegetarians, flexitarians, and the veggie-curious. The range is high in plant-based protein, soy free, Halal and Kosher.
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