How did you start in the business ?

After high school, I did several jobs, including five years as a head of the fresh produce department in mass distribution, before being hired as a sales rep for a cheese dairy in the Bongrain Group at Chateau-Gontier in 1986. In 1992, I became the regional manager for the Paris-Ile-de-France, Centre and West region and that was when I used to go to Rungis Market. In 2000, the Bongrain Group set up a sales entity dedicated to wholesalers, which I ran, and in 2007, I was appointed managing director of Prodilac SNC, the Bongrain Group’s company at Rungis. My work satisfies me particularly because I have always been interested in dairy products.

What is the origin of the company ?

Prodilac is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bongrain Group, which has a head office in Viroflay (78) and employs 19 000 staff. This family-owned group was founded half a century ago by Jean-Noël Bongrain, who had a cheese dairy at Illoud (Vosges) and became known by making the famous “Caprice des Dieux” cheese.  Besides dairy products, the group now handles seafood and chocolate products. The group’s leitmotiv and policy is product quality.
The Bongrain Group came to Rungis via the Elle et Vire brand because the distributor, Beurlait, was based at Rungis. In 2002, Prodilac was born from the merger of Beurlait with La Maison du Gruyère (a company the Bongrain Group bought from the Entremont Group).

What is the company's activity ?

Our business is based on selling the group’s surplus production. Our volumes total 8 500 tons/year, namely 3 300 tons of cheese, 2 500 tons of milk, butter and cream, 1 500 tons of eggs, with some certified organic agriculture (AB) since 2010 (10%), 600 tons of hard cheeses cooked in cellars, 100 tons of cooked meats, 500 tons of sodas and beer. Our customers are itinerant markets (45%), Rungis and provincial wholesalers (30%), restaurants and delicatessens (25%) and 90% of our sales are done on the spot. Our flagship products are soft cheeses (brushed and mould rind), cooked hard cheeses (Emmental, comté, Beaufort, Morbier) and Swiss products (15%). We made the choice to prefer quality to quantity, as a token of trust and loyalty to our customers, and to modernize the company, as a growth factor (renovation of the cellar area and cooling system).

What is your strategy of development ?

We want to expand our product line and increase the number of suppliers to offer our customers a wider choice.  This is a commercial policy we are going to

develop because competition is healthy and necessary for the market and the customer. Our goal is to beef up our range and our sales in the cellar, which was renovated recently for that purpose (300 whole cheeses stored), particularly the traditional products. Furthermore, our strategy is also geared to the quality of the products, which is a guarantee for growth. Cheese consumption today is slightly up as a whole.

What do you think of Rungis Market ?

We are very satisfied to be here because Rungis is an exceptional business centre and it represents an important potential for selling on a qualitative offer. Being present at Rungis gives us a good grasp of the market. It is a concentration of top quality professionals, a unique place to do business and, like a good cheese, Rungis Market improves with time.