In Albias, between Montauban and Monteil, Les Rives de l’Aveyron is settled among the orchards of apples, pears and kiwis. The small family business has come a long way since its creation, three generations earlier.
Olivier Thibaut, expert in communication and graphic designer, joined his father Bertrand in the company about 10 years ago. To the experience with the orchards was then added an ambition to diversify, which gave birth to a workshop for processing fruit juices and to local sales.
Olivier Thibaut
A production valued in its entirety thanks to the juice processing workshop
Besides differentiating it from other farms, the juice processing workshop has allowed the company to enhance the value of its entire harvest. “We have almost no waste. All the slightly damaged fruits are processed into juice. We also help our neighbors add value to their fruits, for example, when scab problems occur, or when frost damages their harvest.”
The activity has been profitable since last year, but setting it up required a lot of hard work. “We built the workshop 8 years ago. But at the beginning, we could not find any qualified employee to help us get started. So I learned everything on the job.” A few years later, this self-taught juice producer recruited employees which he himself trained.
His efforts paid off and last year, the company sold, to large retailers and directly at the farm, nearly 200,000 bottles of 100% natural non-filtered juice and non-alcoholic sparkling fruit juices. The company also received a gold medal for its apple-pear juice in 2018, and a gold medal for its apple juice and apple-pear juice in 2019.
A desire to bring consumers closer to the producers
In addition to his juice processing workshop, Olivier was one of the first to set up, upon his arrival at the company, direct sales and picking in the orchards. “This brought some income before the harvest. We train the visitors so everything goes smoothly during the picking. It is also an opportunity for them to understand how an orchard works, and to see that, unlike what they hear on TV, there is biodiversity in the orchards,” explains Olivier. An activity which benefits everyone. At 1.00-1.20 €/kg [0.50-0.61 $/lb] for apples and 1.40 €/kg [0.71 $/lb] for kiwis, Olivier and Bertrand offer producer prices.
For a few years now, father and son have been opening the gates of their orchards on the first weekend of the fall holidays, which they have called “Vitamin Days”. For the occasion, a small concert is given and a market of local producers is held on the Sunday. “It is an opportunity for people to come visit the orchards, to pick Chantecler apples and kiwis.” A successful event, since the orchards welcomed 2,500 visitors last year, which is 500 more than the previous year.
Multiple ongoing projects
When it comes to projects, Olivier is full of ideas. After modernizing his bottle labels, the manager is now targeting new markets. “The demand is increasing and people consume more and more locally. We would now like to touch the fast-food industry and we plan to offer other formats for our juices. We are also working on a deposit system, but for this, retailers must get involved.”
Olivier also wants to expand and modernize the site. “We are making an expansion of 21,528 square feet and we have installed solar panels on the roofs. There is a plan to buy another juice production line and to create a parking-lot in order to receive our clientele.”
For more information:
Olivier Thibaut
Les Rives de L'Aveyron
1936 route de Cos,
82350 Albias
Phone: 05.63.31.17.50
Mobile: 06.11.60.09.71
thibautservicefruits@gmail.com
www.rivesdelaveyron.com