Denis Cheron, who comes from Montargis (Loire) (43 years old) got his inspiration from his parents and grandparents.

"My paternal grandparents were grower-distillers and farming subcontracters, while my maternal grandparents were grain millers. My parents took over the growing-distilling business and became beverage wholesalers. I worked as a trainee at Carniato in 1983 as part of my BTS (Higher Technician's Licence) in sales support and implementation. As they were happy with my work, the directors took me on as a sales representative on 24 August 1984. I went on to become sales director and then manager of the Rungis site on 5 December 1994. When I started, I set myself goals and defined a strategy: target the customer base, upgrade the market and improve the quality of Italian products. My field experience led me to make sales the number one priority. I therefore decided to discontinue our relationship with certain customers and focus solely on those with an established reputation, thereby improving the company image. It was important to highlight the quality and originality of our products. Carniato now has 140 employees including nearly 50 sales representatives, an administrative department, and an order preparation department. It also has one subsidiary in Belgium, another in Alsace and a showroom in Paris. As a subsidiary of Italian producers, the company belongs to three groups: Gruppo Italiano vini, la Coltiva and a company specialising in cured meats, Grandi salumifici Italiani.

We have a nine-strong team at Rungis, including six sales representatives. Our best sales are made on Italian wines (320,500 bottles per year, 14.6% of sales), Italian delicatessen meats (80 tonnes per year, 14.27% of sales, cooked and cured hams, dried sausages and antipasti), cheeses (104 tonnes per year, 12.5% of sales), and fresh pasta made in Bonneuil-sur-Marne (119 tonnes per year, 9.5% of sales). We also sell olive oil and dried pasta. All products combined, our sales volumes exceed 1,500 metric tons per year. We have a very diverse customer base: delicatessens, market traders, restaurants and a few pizzerias, plus export wholesalers in the French Overseas Departments and Territories (Martinique, Reunion, Guadeloupe, Papeete, Wanatu), small regional traders and butcher-delicatessens. We are very happy to be at Rungis. The market's strength lies in this huge assembly of professionals whose products cover all food trade and catering business needs. Rungis brings flavours from all over Europe to the heart of France. »