Parisian-born Pierre Lacassagne (55 years old) is the third generation of fruit and vegetable operators in the family.

"My grandparents on my mother's side came to France after the First World War, and in 1936 opened a shop in Les Halles in Paris. My father Henri came to Paris to study at the HEC, then took over management of Transports Lacassagne, a business created by his father's great-uncle. In 1969, my father teamed up with my mother's brother, Pierre Flaviano, to operate a fruit and vegetable warehouse at Rungis MIN. They had an extensive range, and my father managed traditional produce like apples, pears and mushrooms while my uncle managed citrus fruits. After 4 years at medical school, I teamed up with my father in 1977. In 1995, we split our business. My uncle Pierre Flaviano and his son set up the company Flaviano at pavilion E2, while my father and I came to A3 and created the company Lacassagne. We sourced new suppliers and prospected new customers and new outlets such as major retailers. It was around that time that I met Sylviane Bluker - she was one of our customers and came from Reunion island – and she became my partner. With Sylviane, we did a huge amount of groundwork on produce from Reunion, like victoria pineapples and lychees". In 2000, Geffroy Bienaimé (37) joined the company. "I graduated from the CCI-Paris Business School with a postgraduate certificate. My first position was with Drevin SA in '94, after which I came to Lacassagne in 2000 to develop the exotic produce range and jump-start the imports activity. We work with wholesalers (40%) and semi-wholesalers (35%), major retail outlets (25%) and the export market (5%).

Our range of exotic produce (mangoes, limes, papaya, passion fruit, physalis, etc.) has around 50 references, of which 10% generates 70% of our net sales, which have grown 30% over the last 5 years. We are also developing sales of starfruit and kumbaya as well as seasonal French produce (asparagus, stone fruits, melon, etc.). We have managed to position ourselves as the key actor in a specific range of year-round, top-end produce. We are constantly working on selection to get the best quality-to-price ratio. We employ 7 staff and distribute 4,285 tonnes of fruit annually. Our target is to gain market share in exotic produce and develop our services package… The exotic produce market promises continued development. European customers come to the MIN because all the very best fresh produce comes through Rungis".