"Personally, it seems obvious to me that the pesticide-free range will have a better future than the organic range," says Olivier Brailly from the French company Groupe MGD. "For a certain class of people, the conventional is almost diabolical, although all over Europe really dangerous pesticides are prohibited. For the uninitiated, the organic range remains relatively vague. The pesticide-free range, in turn, ensures that it’s not a threat to our health. This range is the most identifiable of all. Besides, it’s placed in between organic and conventional in terms of image and prices."
The MGD Group brings together the PSD distribution platform in Rungis and the Montfort et Fils company in Brittany; the leading shipper of brands such as Prince de Bretagne. In 2017, the MGD Group also took over Valrevel in Provence, a production company specialising in lettuce, stone fruits and melons.
"Our melons are all produced in the Provence. The Provence has an image of freshness, quality and sun. We mostly export melons to Belgium, because the Belgians very much like its sweet taste.” The MGD Group's tomatoes are mostly sold in France. "Although Belgian tomatoes are considered less good than French tomatoes, Belgians mainly eat Belgian tomatoes. I think this is due to their chauvinistic side."
The MGD group offers a sizeable range of tomatoes, such as the green zebra, and the pineapple tomato. "The market’s great; circumstances due to climate caused a slight delay in production, but it was less delay than expected, and this was a pleasant surprise for consumers. The demand hasn’t dropped and, contrary to expectations, we can offer a wide range."
Olivier also focuses on the 20/80 selectives: the 20 products that account for 80% of consumption. Examples are potatoes, apples, bananas, tomatoes and lettuce. "Previously, it was enough to offer these products at the lowest price, but the more time transpires, the more selective this range becomes. The products are more beautiful and more qualitative than before, and the premium range is growing enormously. Above all, the products are more and more identifiable. They have labels like “no pesticides”, “red label”, etc. For our company, quality comes first, and stipulating quality and freshness has its price. Fortunately, the trend’s taking a direction in our favour."
Olivier adds that consumers want the chain to be transparent. "They want to know how the product arrived at the store. In my opinion, it’s not impossible that, one day, consumers will buy their products directly from producers."
For more information : 
Groupe MGD
Olivier Brailly
+336 73 45 48 58