“Fraîch’Envie”, the fresh-cutting station of the Estivin Group, offers a wide range of freshly-cut fruit and vegetables. During this period marked by Covid-19, the demand is lower. “The French have started cooking again, therefore mainly consuming first-range vegetables,” explains Lucie Dumont, manager of Fraîch’Envie.
“The same goes for fruit. Cut fruits - easy to transport and consumed a lot as a snack - are consumed less because many people are still working from home.” According to Lucie Dumont, it is just a temporary trend. She adds that in France, the fresh-cutting market is not mature yet. “In other countries, like the United States, people are much more used to consuming ready-to-use products. In France, this market is still developing.”
The clientele of Fraîch’Envie is growing. Supermarkets represent most of its revenue. “We adapt our range and the weight according to the supermarket’s requirements. We offer custom-made products. We are also developing a range for the catering industry, which includes organic zucchini slices or squash cubes in 1.5kg packaging.”
Seasonal range offered to the clients
From the beginning of October until the end of March, Fraîch’Envie offers a large quantity of winter vegetables, such as squash or vegetable mix for soups. The summer range, available from April to September, includes fruit such as melons, watermelons and strawberries. The seasonal offer complements the permanent range, which includes grated carrots and cucumbers.
The local approach is promoted
Lucie Dumont indicates that Fraîch’Envie works with local products. “Of course, this is not possible for all products (like pineapples or coconuts) but most of our offer comes from France. Our products have a very short shelf life and we want to guarantee freshness to our clients, so we cannot waste time in transport. The products arrive at our station early in the morning. After the quality controls and the cutting preparation, they are packed. The first trucks leave at 2pm and the last ones at 6pm. Fresh-cutting requires a mastery of the different aspects of this technique in order to respect all the flavour of the products (without additives, added sugars or preservatives): in other words, 100% natural fresh products.”
For more information:
Lucie Dumont
Groupe Estivin - Fraîch’Envie
Phone: +33 2 47 32 32 84
lucie.dumont@estivin.fr
www.estivin.fr