Jacques Goupil (50 years old), never seen without his cap on, is the great grandson of a producer of flowers based in Nice and son of a cut flowers wholesaler. Born in Saint-Maurice (Val-de-Marne), Jacques Goupil has kept the family business alive and taken it forward.

"My great grandparents grew carnations in Nice in a 4-hectare open field. My grandfather Charles used to come and sell them at the old Halles de Paris after the Second World War and created the Goupil Company. Next, my father Etienne and my mother took over the business and extended their range of flowers (roses, tulips from the Var, anemones, mimosa, violets, buttercups, etc.) with other producers in the Provence-Alpes-Côtes d'Azur (PACA) region. From the age of 12, I used to help my father during the school holidays and learned to love the business, which led to my starting work alongside him at a very early age. My father set up at Rungis in 1969 and I took over the business in 1988 when he retired. At the start, we sold ten or so articles from the PACA region then, as demand increased, our sales outlet grew from 20 m2 to 120 m2 and we started to distribute other types of flowers in addition to those from Provence. Since the beginning, our flagship products have been florets from the Midi (roses, tulips from the Var, anemones, mimosa, violets, buttercups, broom, French pinks and mini-carnations, gerberas, snapdragons, liliums, and so on) which account for 70% of our sales volumes.

Our customers mainly include shop- and market-based florists (70%) along with restaurateurs and interior decorators (30%). We currently have a six-strong team. We work directly with twenty-odd producers in the PACA region known for their product quality and production follow-up throughout the season. This consistent quality level is a key feature that ensures our customers keep coming back. While flowers from the Midi are fairly expensive due to production costs (fuel, transport, handling charges, etc.) their freshness guarantees higher quality and they last a lot longer. As for flower production, Provence is still considered a region of choice due to its climate. Rungis Market is a very effective tool with a unique range of products on offer. Flowers from the Midi bring sunshine to Rungis."