Wishing to work together, Danièle and Gérard took over the running of Alazard, a company specialising in the distribution of dairy products, in 2002.

"I was born in Paris where my father was a Civil Servant. After completing a university technology diploma in accounting and management at the University Technological Institute (IUT) in Sceaux, I started work in the administration department of a large hotel group where I stayed for about twelve years before joining a computer firm. I met my husband Gérard Maysseng (46 years old), at the IUT in Sceaux where he was also studying for a management degree, before going on to complete a Masters degree in management at Paris-Dauphine. At the time, his parents ran a grocery business. Following his studies, Gérard went into the IT sector. We got married in 1985 and have two children… In 2002, we knew we wanted to do something different and so decided to create our own company in order to work together. We heard that the Alazard company was for sale through a friend of ours who already worked at Rungis.

The owner, Mr Michel Alazard, wanted to retire and was looking for someone to take over his business. So, we decided to make the leap. This represented a real challenge for us as we had absolutely no professional experience in this domain. However, a strong will to succeed, whatever the cost, got us through. Today, we have ten employees including five delivery drivers and three warehouse pickers. We deliver to 95% of our customers, restaurateurs and brasserie managers requiring a very high level of quality (70%) and small supermarkets and caterers (30%). Our flagship products are cantal, brie, and reblochon which each represent sales of about 1.5 tonnes per month. We also sell large quantities of butter, eggs and cream. We try to find ways of catching people's attention, by stocking special products that you can't get elsewhere, like certain goat's cheeses that we receive from small, high-quality, independent producers. Our best season runs from September to January. We build on Rungis Market's standing and renown and the quality of its products. We have every confidence in our future here as Rungis has the cream of the crop…".