Interview by Simon Barthélemy from the newspaper La Croix Sol Semilla , 04/22/2022 at 3:15 p.m.
Interview
Interview France seen by... Before the presidential election, La Croix L'Hebdo gives the floor to French people from all walks of life so that they can share their aspirations and convictions. Today, Juliette Thévenin, sales manager in Bordeaux...
At Dior, where she was in charge of developing men's leather goods. "However, the glitzy side of luxury was not [her] thing," the young woman set up her own company, which found quality kitchen equipment or had its production revived by French artisans. But fifteen years ago, Juliette went through a difficult period - the father of her young son left her, her parents died. In search of stability, she became manager of an independent organic store in Paris, then, in 2018, joined the company Sol Semilla, which transforms its superfoods in a laboratory in Angoulême. A year ago, she moved to Bordeaux, where she has family ties.
La Croix L'Hebdo: What makes you get up in the morning?
Juliette Thévenin:
Several things. The combat side of my job really drives me, defending the very good idea of the founders of my company: preserving original seeds cultivated in a non-intensive way in an ecosystem....
..superfoods, because they are plants that have all the nutrients the body needs and that only grow in certain latitudes, such as spirulina from Chad, rich in vitamin C, the Criollo cocoa , acerola , acai , very popular in Brazil.
I talk about combat, because it is the reality of a French SME with around ten employees: if you don't get up in the morning, everything stops. Everyone has a key role in the company. It offers a certain autonomy in the organization, and that's what I'm looking for. I have the entrepreneurial spirit, I work...
...the product is detected, imported, analyzed, sold. And then there is the human side that I like a lot. I have contacts both with the big organic network brands and with customers who come directly to see us at trade fairs.
Where are the French, seen from their plates?
JT:
With food, we quickly get into people's private lives, everyone expresses their obsessions through food. In the four years I've been in this company, I've felt a stronger distrust. In an uncertain context, everyone is careful about what they spend, but also about the quality of the products. However, we are inundated with information that is not always accurate about the content of our food, especially about organic products.
I try to remove this distrust by not speaking to customers as a salesperson, but by... consuming and cooking for her son and his friends the products she sells. Without transparency, I don't know how to do it. People are tired, they want to be pampered by people who speak to them sincerely, to maintain connections in a world where these evaporate very quickly, according to the requests.
What is your assessment of the last five years?
JT:
We already had a lot of recourse to partial unemployment during the yellow vest protests, then Covid arrived. Local traders in urban areas were completely blocked, and had to close. However, our clientele is largely made up of bobo city dwellers. But also chocolatiers, vegan restaurateurs, juice bars... All projects were therefore frozen. Of course, the organic movement exploded during this period, but people mainly bought basic necessities, and the momentum was supported by the race that the major retailers embarked on, by opening a...
So it's becoming more and more difficult for small companies like ours, because we are a niche market and we are not part of the priorities of these chains. Fortunately, plant-based is on the rise. The market is driven by a young clientele curious about new experiences, and by starred chefs.
Has there been a scene that has struck you recently?
JT:
Pastry chef Pierre Hermé was interested in our products. I met his chefs and introduced them to yacon, a type of sweet potato grown in Peru that produces a plant-based sweetener with a very low glycemic index, making it very suitable for diabetics. I was very impressed, because I never imagined introducing new flavors to professionals working for one of the world's greatest pastry chefs and who have access to the best products. And it was very rewarding to see the...yacon, which has a flavor between honey and maple syrup
What would you most definitely not want to lose?
JT:
Proximity, this direct link with people that a local SME offers through stores, salons... I like to discuss how to consume our products with an old lady, a sick person or simply someone who wants to eat more healthily, even if my role is not to be a doctor or naturopath. The results of my work must be concrete and visible, and it must make sense. Sales is a profession that is sometimes frowned upon, we have the image of the salesperson who gets his foot in the door. But I feel like I'm doing it by doing my bit, by reconciling consumption and ethics.
What is the first step you would take if you were president?
JT:
I don't have a specific measure in mind, but we need to promote local and nearby agriculture, why not by limiting...
...school canteens that try to supply locally....Many producers disappear due to lack of support, while we have unsatisfied demand. I recently met a herbalist who has been around since the 1970s and who cannot find French peppermint. He is doing his best to create a group of local growers. There are plenty of initiatives like this that are insufficiently supported.
