How did the business start ?

The business was founded in 1964 by our father René, in a historic fruit growing area with rich soil (silt/clay content); he specialized in red fruit production, and we took over in 1999. The legal form changed from a family partnership to become a private limited company (EARL - exploitation agricole à responsabilité limitée) called Maison Gaillard. We are continuing the business along the same lines as our parents’. We worked for the family business before 1999.

What do you produce ?

We select varieties with a high tasting value. We have not positioned ourselves on the varieties produced by other European countries like Spain or Portugal, or Morocco, which can still produce fruit at unbeatable prices. We opted to produce top quality fruit and we apply reasoned agriculture. On our farm of 34.18 hectares, we grow apples and pears on half the land, with 13.60 ha for pears and 5.50 ha for apples. The remainder breaks down as follows: 6.83 ha raspberries, 1.10 ha strawberries, 0.50 ha mulberries, 0.40 ha plum trees, 0.15 ha cherry trees and 0.10 acres for redcurrant bushes. That leaves about 5.50 ha of land, pending replanting.

What varieties do you grow ?

In pears, we work with four lovely varieties, notably Williams, Louise-Bonne, Conference and Comice, the most widely produced. This is the largest production in terms of volume. Pears are fragile produce, but our main problem is the competition from Holland and Belgium, which really hurts us. In this demanding market, we have to deal with the challenge of the last minute crop, or “perfect ripeness". Furthermore, a given orchard can vary significantly in terms of volume, from one year to the next. To limit this fluctuation, we have run soil analyses to help optimise the nutritional content. For apples, there are eleven varieties of good quality : Jubilee, Chantecler, Elstar, Gala, Golden, Jonagored, Braeburn, Cox’s Orange, Canada, Boskoop and Canada grey. This means we have an offer that is staggered well over time. Golden and Gala are the best sellers. Our main outlets for apples are large and medium-sized supermarkets. We also produce the “signed apple” ( an apple which can be naturally printed for customization needs), which demands real know-how and conveys an excellent image of our expertise. The red fruit production is important. We have raspberries, with Meeker, the queen of raspberries, Polka and Heritage varieties. Strawberries cover five varieties: wild strawberry, Charlotte, Mara des Bois, Gariguette and Manilla. For the last two years, we have been developing these varieties in sheltered, compost plantations. Lastly, we produce mulberries and redcurrants (Junifer and Rovada var.).

What are the prospects for this business ?

The strawberry may be a line to develop and we are going to increase the production. With the pear, we listen to the market and may be looking at reducing production. As regards the apple, we’d like to plant the Reine des Reinettes variety, for which there is growing demand. Otherwise, we are introducing new varieties like Chantecler to our clients. Our objective is to produce 20 to 25 tons/ha annually of each variety. In any case, we try to adapt production to demand at reasonable prices. We have a stake in the development of consumer associations (AMAP) and the Internet via a start-up sales company. We plan to get as close as possible to the end consumer. The company’s long-term growth will depend on greater selection to remain in the promising markets. You have to produce what you know how to sell.

What do you think of Rungis Market ?

Rungis Market remains important and essential for us, but it is no longer our sole objective. Over the last ten years, our turnover at Rungis has gone from 90% to 30%. We now only supply pears (110 tons/year), plus some strawberries and raspberries. Rungis is still a market for promoting niche products.