“At Champiland, we are unique in the sense that we grow mushrooms and we also source fresh, frozen and dried products in France and around the world,” explains Yann Goavec, manager of Champiland. With 35 years of existence, the company located in the Landes de Gascogne is a key actor on the market of cultivated and wild mushrooms.
For several years, Champiland has been trying to boost its activity in the fresh segment, a sector in full development thanks to a growing demand. “We cultivate oyster mushrooms and shitake mushrooms. For the last 5 years, the production has been particularly dynamic because the demand has grown for French mushrooms in general, whether they are fresh, frozen or dried. Consumers are really willing to pay a little more for mushrooms from France. Our products also have a good reputation and are perfectly suited to consumers who are looking for healthy and more plant-based products. We have therefore doubled our production area of oyster and shitake mushrooms, now spread over 24 cultivation houses.”
As part of its development, the company also plans to make new investments and improve some of its facilities this year.
A service focused on quality
The products of Champiland are sold to mass retailers, the food service industry and B2B for the processing part. “Accompanying our clients is one of our top priorities. It is very important for us to remain close to them. We try to always offer them the best mushrooms. All the products we sell are strictly controlled, sorted and processed on our own site. Our crops have the Global GAP certification and we tend to work with clients for whom quality security is important.”
The company's internal organization attests to this desire since the quality department alone represents nearly 10% of the entire staff.
Organic mushrooms from France/Europe
Champiland also grows organic mushrooms, which remains a confidential market today.
“For our organic mushrooms, we chose to only offer French or European products under our ‘Secret Bio’ brand. Organic products are already a niche market, but the combination of organic and French/European really makes it a micro-market. Although the demand for organic products was growing a few years ago, they no longer seem to be a priority for mass retailers. However, being in such a niche market allows us to avoid the difficulties currently experienced by the organic sector.”
Wild mushrooms collected in France
The wild mushrooms growing in France also represent a considerable part of the company’s activity. The wild mushroom market is completely different from that of cultivated mushrooms. We are much more subject to weather hazards and the resource is not extensible. The harvesting areas evolve over time, which is something we cannot really anticipate. The wild mushrooms we collect include the chanterelle, a variety that grows well in the Landes area. It can be found in early autumn already. The chanterelle has very interesting properties both in terms of taste and visual aspect. It is our signature wild mushroom: we sell it fresh, frozen and dried.”
For more information:
Yann Goavec
Champiland
[email protected]
https://msha.ke/champiland/
www.champiland.com