Starfruits diffusion is a distributor of fruit varieties. What does your job involve?
Renaud Pierson : We are a grouping of nurseries that was created in 1968. We explore varieties across the globe and when one is of interest to us and can be developed in Europe, we write up contacts with its creators (public or private) and we implement its distribution by granting licenses to third party nurseries in France or in Europe. It is a system that is similar to publishing music or literature. We are particularly specialized in species originating from North America, France, Italy, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
How can you innovate to develop your business?
R.P. : The essence of our profession is to introduce varietal innovation. Beyond that however, we also innovated in terms of marketing. We were pioneers in the development of the economic model around the Pink Lady®. Our original acquisition, Cripps Pink, comes from Western Australia. At the moment we acquired the rights to this variety, we knew we had a jewel as unique as the Golden, Granny Smith or Gala varieties were in 1960, 1970 and 1980 respectively. We became the sole distributor in Europe. Since then, natural mutants have surfaced adding to our rich selection. European production as a whole is marketed under the same Pink Lady® brand. What is offered to the consumer is consistent quality, thanks to technical and qualitative plan supervision of the entire chain, from production to packaging, not to mention storing. This brand economic model had since been duplicated by competing acquisitions (Such as the Jazz® apple and Tentation®, Nld).
Do your innovations suffer from counterfeiting?
R.P. : Crossbreeding two varieties is a task that takes very long and allows for the attribution of a 30 year Proprietary Variety Certificate. Multiplication of plants of any given variety is extremely simple to do through grafting. We therefore encounter problems with counterfeiting. Not as much in France where protective systems and sanitary certification introduced in the 1950s acts as a safeguard. But more in Southern European and Eastern European Countries, where community laws were applied much later.
Visite the site: lentreprise.lexpress.fr