Son of a Portuguese truck driver, Mario Andrade arrived in Paris at the age of 14. After studying as a design draftsman in Rouen, he worked in a laboratory before joining Citroen at Aulnay-sous-Bois... "I met Philippe, a friend of my wife and son of a fruit and vegetable wholesaler at Rungis, when I was 22. Together we set up the company REP fruits in 1978, specialising in fruit and vegetable distribution. Pierre, another friend, joined us two years later. This was a heroic time when we did absolutely everything by ourselves: purchasing, sales, deliveries, order preparation - you name it, we did it. We slept on a sofa at the store, no more than a couple of hours per night… and this went on for nearly twenty years. In 1994, I became the sole manager of the company following my friends' decision to leave. Today, we sell 60% vegetables and 40% fruits, mainly from France, to restaurateurs, hotels and retailers. Our flagship products are tomatoes, salads, carrots and leeks in vegetables (50% of our sales volumes), and oranges, lemons and apples in fruits. We have a 25-strong team - 17 work at REP and 8 at Rungis Star. Many of my employees have been with me for many years. We have a close, family-style working relationship based on strong mutual respect. My wife Roseline is responsible for the management side of the business, and my daughter Céline runs the Rungis Star.

We offer a comprehensive service based around "Customer satisfaction" Rungis is an extraordinary tool that has developed in all the right directions. I don't know of any better place to find this diversity and range of produce. But Rungis is like a racing circuit, you have to keep up to speed…" A lifelong car and automobile racing enthusiast and an experienced racing driver, Mario Andrade created his own team in 2002, Team Andrade Compétition. Together with his talented team members (including Gérard Moncé) and his son Alexandre (19 years old, budding champion and future chef at one of Alain Ducasse's Michelin-starred students), Team Andrade are collecting medals (2005 French Off-Road Endurance Championship)