Olivier Périchon (45 years old) directs his company with an eye on hard, high-quality work effort, demanding as much of himself as he does of his employees; a perfectionist permanently seeking innovative, high-quality products.

"The Butet company, soon to celebrate its centenary, was established at the Halles de Paris in 1912 by Marcel Butet, a mushroom trader. His son, Robert Butet, took over the business in the 1940s and my father, Serge Périchon, joined the company ten years later. When they first arrived at Rungis in 1969, they only sold three articles: cultivated mushrooms (70% of sales) plus watercress and curly parsley. They had two salespeople and three assistants. In 1983, Robert Butet decided to sell his shares in the business to my father who became CEO of S.A Ets Butet. My mother, Georgette, ran the administrative and financial side of the business. At the time, the company was selling 40 tonnes of mushrooms, 15,000 bunches of watercress and 30 pallets of parsley per week. After completing a law degree (Paris II), a DECS (higher accounting diploma) and six-months work experience in the USA, I joined the family business in 1986 and worked my way up the ranks as assistant, cashier, salesperson and finally director. These years saw us double, and even triple, our volumes of mushrooms by significantly broadening our seasonal range of wild mushrooms (ceps, chanterelles, etc.) The increasing demand meant we had to set up a collection network for foreign supply. Our next step was to open a mini-vegetable department, the first company to do so at Rungis, which was an instant success, driving annual turnover up by 15%. We then decided to expand our range to include young shoots, edible flowers, heritage vegetables, micro-vegetables, sprouted seeds, etc. Very popular with chefs, these are our flagship product line and underpin our reputation. Grown in rich, high-quality areas, our products are rigorously selected by our team of specialists. Our range boasts over 250 product references (80% vegetables and leafy vegetables; 20% exotic fruits), not including a range of exclusive Italian products.

The business has a 20-strong workforce and serves 1,200 customers per week (which breaks down as restaurants, catering specialists and exclusive hotels - 40%; wholesalers and semi-wholesalers - 20%; street markets and major retail outlets - 20%; export to EU countries - 20%); the business has an annual turnover growth rate of 10%. With its astounding range of top quality products, Rungis is the "Nef d’Or" (Golden Ship) of French regional produce…" Unrivalled for its dynamic approach, this market will continue to grow by concentrating business and customer flows, and by further developing sales volumes and product ranges." An administrative member of the CSCGFL (French Association of Fruit and Vegetable Wholesalers), Ets Butet received a Nef d’Or in 2000 for its outstanding contribution to the French export industry.