Prince de Bretagne celebrated 50 years at Paris’s Salon de l’Agriculture: new branding and events

From February 22 to March 1, Prince de Bretagne was present for the second consecutive year in the aisles of the Salon International de l’Agriculture (international agricultural show), with its 120m² stand shaped like a giant tomato and cauliflower. It was an opportunity for the leader in the fresh fruit and vegetable sector to celebrate its 50th anniversary with consumers and to present its new ‘The Market Gardeners’ branding to the general public.

Stand focuses on the knowledge
and commitment of 2,000 market gardeners

More than 50 market gardeners were to visit the stand during the event to interact with consumers and answer all their questions. The stand has been designed to offer an educational and fun experience to the general public. Young and old alike were able to take advantage of different events to discover or rediscover the brand, its 50-year history, its commitments, the know-how of its market gardeners and its wide range of 100% Breton fresh fruit and vegetables:

• Exclusive and fun for all the family:  an ‘enigma game’ based on the brand’s history
• A giant colouring to discover Brittany and its vegetables
• To mark the 50th anniversary, the public will be able to take photos at the wheel of an authentic tractor from back in the day
• 360° immersion in cauliflower, artichoke and tomato crops thanks to virtual reality glasses
• Tastings to discover modern, quick and tasty ways to consume our fruits and vegetables
• A seasonality wheel and lots of other fun and goodies!

Several guilds were also featuring on the stand.

• Tuesday February 25: Coco de Paimpol PDO guild was present.
• Wednesday February 26: artichoke guild was present.
• Thursday February 27: Roscoff onion PDO guild was present with a demonstration of onion plaiting

A strong brand created
by producers for consumers

The brand’s history has been punctuated by key dates in the organisation of its production and marketing: in 1961 SICA in St Pol-de-Léon was created with the first sales at the clock auction (to ensure fairer prices for market gardeners) and in 1965 CERAFEL (Regional Economic Committee for Breton Fruits and Vegetables) was created, marking the organisation of agriculture in Brittany with a regrouping of three departments on the region’s northern coast. Today, under the status of a producer group association, this grouping brings together seven cooperatives (including five involved in vegetable production using the Prince de Bretagne brand: Sica St Pol de Léon, UCPT, Terres de Saint Malo, Socoprim and Triskalia). And in 1970, the Prince de Bretagne brand was launched, driven by the desire of Breton vegetable producers to have a strong brand, synonymous with quality and recognised by the entire industry, including consumers.

Fifty years later, Prince de Bretagne comprises Breton market gardeners with a daily commitment to ‘growing better’ and ‘good eating’ with a range of 147 100% fresh fruit and vegetables.

The history of the network and its ambitions would not have been possible without a unique governance system in which market gardeners are the decision makers, from production through to marketing and including promotions and communication.

Market gardeners, natural commitment, passion for growing:
producers (always) at the heart of the brand

To celebrate 50 years, Prince de Bretagne has unveiled its new branding, ‘The Market Gardeners’,  accompanied by a new slogan, ‘Natural commitment, passion for growing’. This communication is centred on people and is in line with consumer expectations. The new Prince de Bretagne visual identity illustrates the dynamics of a network in constant pursuit of progress. To protect easy consumer recognition of the brand, Prince de Bretagne is retaining its red oval logo adorned with a green crown (a logo dating from 1995 and restyled in 2015). The ideas of taste and freshness used in previous branding are now well established among consumers. In an increasingly digital and globalised world, brand differentiation is now focused on the authenticity and the reality of the men and women who cultivate their soil with passion every day and are the origin of every fruit and vegetable sold by Prince de Bretagne. Their expertise is emphasised by two designations of origin, Coco de Paimpol PDO and Roscoff pink onions PDO.

One of the essential values cultivated by the group is solidarity between producers. Prince de Bretagne’s producers are pioneers in the field of agroecological market gardening, which is the fruit of refusing any opposition between different types of agriculture, conventional and organic, and stimulated by the passing on of intergenerational knowledge.

“This new communication – Market gardeners, natural commitment, passion for growing – reaffirms our positioning and reflects our passion for our profession and commitment, of Prince de Bretagne market gardeners invested in responsible and sustainable agriculture,” explains Marc Keranguéven, President of CERAFEL Prince de Bretagne.

These new graphics will be available on the various packaging options offered during the launch of the spring ranges.

Renewal of a brand that’s always invested:
new Sustainable Development and CSR commitments

After the 10 commitments listed in the Sustainable Development – Corporate Social Responsibility Charter, which earned the group the special jury prize in the 2018 CSR Challenges, Prince de Bretagne presents its new commitments:

• ‘Contributing to the development of organic production’

With 120 certified organic producers, Prince de Bretagne is currently France’s number one organic vegetable producer group. Organic market gardeners intend to continue their commitment to ‘good eating’ and broaden their range to reach an offer comprising more than 60 vegetables and annual production of 30,000 tonnes.

• Limiting the impact of packaging

The ongoing rationalisation of packaging will continue, in particular with the replacement of plastic packaging with wood and cardboard solutions and the development of the use of generic packaging (more than 80% of vegetables are sold loose). Some 120 tonnes of plastics will be saved in 2020 compared to 2019. This is being achieved by switching from plastic trays to cardboard ones for organic vegetables, the whole range of tomatoes in trays at the start of the 2020 season and for the CSU of Traditional vegetables such as parsnips. In the tomato range alone, this represents an 80% reduction in plastic volumes in 2020!

• ‘Strengthening our agroecological approach’

– The widest range of ‘Grown Without Pesticides’ vegetables: in three years, the ‘Grown Without Pesticides’ range already comprises six vegetables: tomatoes, Traditional shallots, squash, broccoli, Romanesco and cauliflower. That’s a total of 10,000 tonnes in 2019.

– High Environmental Value certification targets: 25% of open field farms in 2020, 50% in 2021 and 100% within two years; and 50% of protected crop farms certified in 2020 with a target of 100% in 2021.