Claude Gruffat, 60, was elected President of Natexbio (the federation of organic and ecological processing and distribution companies) on the 9th April. A front runner for the organic market in France and President off Biocoop since 2004, Claude Gruffat will take over from Benoit Soury who has been at the head of Natexbio since 2013. Natexbio's aim is mainly to represent and promote organic produce in France. They organise the Natexpo trade show, the next one will be in September in Lyon.
Claude Gruffat comes from a farming family in the Haute-Savoie. He qualified in Management before becoming an agricultural advisor in farming development and installation. In the 80's he began to consume organic produce and organised groups for families looking to convert to organic consumption. His first organic cooperative store opened in Blois in 1993, he then opened more Biocoop stores. He had many different responsibilities including President of the region, President of the platform and then President in 2004. He was also in charge of general management from 2006-2011. He is still in charge of managing both of the Biocoop stores in Blois.
Natexpo has 3,000 companies driving organic growth. They represent both production and processing companies as well as distribution, mainly to specialised stores. They have over 3,000 small and very small companies, 20,000 partners and an annual turnover reaching €4.5 billion. They have three professional syndicates: SYNADIET : (dietary supplements), SYNABIO (organic companies in the organic farming sector), SYNADISBIO (distributors specialised in organic and dietary products). They also have a close relationship with Cosmebio and F.V.B.