As the arboriculture sector is actively converting to organic agriculture, Alliance Perlim Meylim has decided to expand its organic offer by following a long-term strategy. “The offer of organic apples in France is in deficit. Today, the demand exceeds the offer, but in a few years, the situation will likely be reversed. If this scenario is confirmed, the market will get restructured and upgrade its range, eliminating the apples that are organic but not very promising in terms of taste. The fruit that will then have their place on the market will be that which is organic, tasty and French. Taste quality being an integral part of our DNA at Alliance Perlim Meylim, selecting varieties that meet this criterion seemed obvious to us,” explains Béatrice Chauffaille, head of marketing and communication at Alliance.
“Opal stands out for its high taste quality”
While others have chosen to carry out the organic conversion of their old Golden orchards, Alliance Perlim Meylim focused its organic development on two specific varieties. A very promising bicolor variety currently in the experimentation phase and the yellow Opal, for which the company obtained exclusive production rights in the Limousin. “Both varieties stand out for their taste qualities. The Opal is rich in flavors and visually appealing, while retaining its rustic and simple aspect, perfectly in line with the values of the company. They are also resistant to scab, an essential criterion in the choice of these varieties. And of course, these apples can grow at high altitude,” explains Luce Savian, technical engineer orchard at Alliance.
“Thermotherapy allows us to speed up the planting of organic orchards”
Alliance Perlim Meylim has been producing the organic Opal for several seasons. “For the reasons mentioned above, we chose to base our organic offer on the planting of new orchards. This is not simple because it implies several years of waiting before harvesting large volumes. But we chose this strategy: slowly but surely. The first organic Opal orchards were planted in 2008. After encountering a few difficulties (Gloeosporium), we have now learned to manage our orchards and how the variety behaves. Additionally, we decided to invest in thermotherapy, a process which helps eliminate Gloeosporium significantly. With this new machine which fights mold using only running water heated to 50°C, we can control the preservation of our organic apples by reducing the amount of products damaged by mold. Thanks to this innovative technique, we will speed up our organic development to reach 10% of the global offer in 2022, going from 53 hectares today to 78 hectares,” explains Luce.
All 150 tons of organic Opal were sold in February-March. The exclusivity contract has just been signed and the harvest will be marketed next year under the logo with the small green leaf, symbolizing the affiliation of Alliance to the Opal club. “We’ve had some very good returns. This apple has a lot of flavors and is very popular. Besides, the Opal has a perfect place on this market that clearly wants a return to authenticity,” explains Béatrice. Of course, the organic production of Alliance Perlim Meylim is now packaged in a 100 % cardboard tray, mostly recycled and produced locally, in line with the values of the company.
“We want to promote the Corrèze origin with our 100% pure apple juice”
As part of its CSR approach, Alliance Perlim Meylim is committed to fighting food waste. The company therefore processes some of its organic Opal production into fruit juice exclusively from the Corrèze. “We joined the brand Origine Corrèze so that consumers can identify the geographical origin of the product. We want to offer a processed product of quality, a 100% pure juice produced organically and locally, in line with our values.”
For more information:
Béatrice Chauffaille
Alliance Perlim Meylim
Phone: +33 555 252 930
beatrice@perlim.com
www.alliance-perlim-meylim.fr
www.opal-apple.com
Luce Savian
Phone: +33 5 55 25 29 45
luce@perlim.com
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