On the 1st of July, a marketing agreement was signed between Cancel Fruits (headquarters in Castelsarrasin, Tarn-et-Garonne) and SA Bel Air, marketing company of the Prayssica fruit cooperative based in Prayssas (Lot-et-Garonne). The family-owned packaging and shipping company Cancel Fruits will then be able to offer high quality organic fruits to its clients.
Each year, the 21 producers of the Prayssica cooperative produce between 4,000 and 5,000 tons of mostly organic plums, strawberries, cherries, grapes, apples, peaches and nectarines for a revenue of about 9 million euros [10.2 million USD]. Chaired by Frédéric Granet, producer in Madaillan, the Prayssica cooperative created in 1962 has 20 employees throughout the year.
All the fruits produced by Bel Air/Prayssica come from a beautiful region: the sunny hillsides of Lot-et-Garonne. The range offered is therefore both organic and very tasty. The quality plums include the Red Label Reine Claude, the Mirabelle, the D’ente plum and the Violine (Black Mirabelle type) which is produced exclusively by the cooperative.
For Alexandre Cancel et Maxime Gi, co-managers of Cancel Fruits, “this partnership allows us to widen our range by offering a full set of organic and conventional fruit of high quality. We will be better able to meet the expectations of our clients who want to centralize their purchases. Our supply will also be more secure since, with two production sites in Tarn-et-Garonne and Lot-et-Garonne, we can protect ourselves better against the bad weather, inherent in our profession.”
For Franck Van de Wiele, manager of SA Bel Air, “the partnership with Cancel Fruits brings a new dynamic to the cooperative. The managers of Cancel Fruits are committed to support the whole sector in its development by financially aiding new planting projects on our partner farms. A real advantage for our young producers!”
Franck Van de Wiele remains the manager of SA Bel Air and joins the sales team of Cancel Fruits part-time. In order to strengthen and ensure organic production, the ultimate goal of both partners is to dedicate the Prayssas site to the packaging of organic fruits. The new site in Castelsarrasin, IFS Food certified, will continue to handle all the packaging and shipping of conventional products.
Alexandre Cancel, co-manager of Cancel Fruits (left), Frédéric Granet, president of the Prayssica cooperative and SA Bel Air (center), Franck Van de Wiele, general manager of Bel Air (right)
Cancel Fruits, leader for plums in France and for grapes and cherries in Occitanie
Cancel Fruits was created in 2001 by Jean-Pierre Cancel and is now managed by his son Alexandre Cancel and son-in-law Maxime Gil. The family-owned business has become the leader in the distribution of plums in France (9,000 tons/year) and one of the major actors in kiwi sales (9,000 tons/year). In addition to these two key products, the company also distributes grapes (2,000 tons/year) and cherries (800 tons/year).
Present in all major retailers, Cancel Fruits had a revenue of 36 million euros [40.7 million USD] in 2019, a 16% increase compared to 2018. The company has 49 employees.
With the contribution of the activities of SA Bel Air, 23,000 tons of plums, kiwis, grapes, cherries, strawberries, apples, peaches and nectarines produced by more than 300 producers should be marketed in 2020.
With this new partnership, Cancel Fruits wants to continue to support the growth of the company by maintaining the values that have driven it since its creation, namely simplicity and proximity with its producers and clients.
For more information:
Laurence de Boerio
Phone: 06 03 10 16 56
rplb@deboerio.net