French producer-distributor Alterbio is a historic player in the organic sector. Emmanuel Eichner: "When I started working at Alterbio, 20 years ago, exports were higher than domestic sales. Without reducing our exports, today the roles are reversed."
The manager of Alterbio, Jean-Pierre Mathaly, has been involved in organic farming since 1985. His two children are in the process of taking over the company, which is still 100% independent and family-owned.
Jean Mathaly with his two children, Audrey and Adrien
Sweety Bonita
Alterbio is the largest sweet potato producer in Europe. 'Sweety Bonita' potatoes are grown in Andalusia and sold to the European market, all to reduce the carbon footprint. Emmanuel Eichner: “Bit by bit, the sweet potato is becoming a well run consumer product in Europe."
Alterbio started by offering sweet potatoes with orange flesh. In February, the company presented a greater diversification of the product. The campaign will start mid-September.
José Balaguer, Purchaser at Alterbio presented different sweet potatoes at Fruit Logistica in February 2018
Emmanuel Eichner posing with the Sweety Bonita mascot
Apart from the sweet potato, Alterbio offers a wide range of products. "Finding the right product in good soil" is one of our mottoes. We are aware of the diversity in soil; there are products that can only be grown in Africa, or South America. To ensure sustainable and ethically responsible production, we only work with well-built and intelligent value chains."
Alterbio's partnerships are numerous: around 200. "We have a very close partnership with Tunisian producers. They produce dates and Maltese oranges, 'the queen of oranges'. We also have close partnerships in Peru, from where we import avocados, ginger, mangoes and turmeric."
Identifiability
Alterbio sells its products under different brands. Each brand is linked to a certain region. "The products of the South of France are sold under the brand Couleurs Midi; these are mainly stone fruits and winter vegetables, all grown by local producers. We market Spanish citrus fruits from the Valencia region under the brand Biovergel.”
The Alterbio warehouse
Nothing gets thrown away
"We rely on three core values: respect for people, commitment to the producer, and innovation. We are very concerned about societal organic, and we defend our values for society and for future generations. We do not throw away any products. Throughout the year, we cooperate with food associations, so that goods which are no longer marketable are given to people in need."
"Regarding the consumption of organic products, the French government speaks encouragingly, but financially they don’t help much. The projected budget for agriculture in 2019 has been reduced. This is not very encouraging, and farmers feel less and less supported by the French government. Fortunately, there’s European aid: farmers are helped more regionally than directly by the French state."
For more information: 
Alterbio
5 Rue Levavasseur
Z-I Saint-Charles
66000 Perpignan
04 68 68 38 2