Peach and apricot sector wants to sign a progress contract with retailers

For the 12th edition of Rendez-vous de l'Arbo, organized on December 10th by the Fruits Plus association in Valence, the producers' association Peaches and Apricots of France unveiled its new project: the progress contract.

Olivier Dauvers, consumer expert, and Régis Aubenas, president of Fruit Plus

From an observatory of distribution to the progress contract
"We started out with the idea of a distribution observatory, based on 1,700 surveys carried out at distributors by Promofel agents throughout the country. The results of these surveys raised the following question: what should we do with all these indicators? We wanted to go further than this simple observatory in 2025. And it was at our annual seminar last month, held this year in Montpellier, that consultant and lecturer Philippe Goetzmann, a specialist in consumption and retail trade, gave us the idea of proposing subjects on which we could work hand in hand with distributors," explains Raphaël Martinez, director of Peaches and Apricots of France.

The Peaches and Apricots of France association took advantage of the event to look back at the 2024 season and the lessons to be learned from it: the consequences of summer events - including the dissolution of the French National Assembly and the Olympic Games - and the weather; the need to develop the flat fruit segment, to continue agronomic and quality work on apricots, to protect the orchards against pests, to adapt the sales calendar to changes in supply and finally, the thorny issue of packaging.

What is the progress contract?
The aim of the progress contract is to increase sales of French peaches and apricots from Eco-responsible Orchards through collaboration between distributors and producers, who would then undertake to work together. "The idea is simple: to go and see the distributors, not forgetting a few wholesalers specialized in French products, and ask them on what points they would like to work with us, so that the work is rewarding for them as well as for us, while avoiding the usual pitfall of each party setting out its requirements. What also motivates us in this project is to be seen as collaborators rather than suppliers or controllers." There is no shortage of subjects to work on, including the maturity and quality of the fruit, the carbon footprint, the range of products on offer and shelf segmentation, staff training, switching between origins, and cost-conscious pricing. "When it comes to the quality of our fruit, for example, consumer expectations often tend to be for ripe and tasty fruit, but when we offer 'unstuck' products, they are rejected for being too ripe. We could also offer training for our floor managers, like the training we offer our accredited retailers, to help them get to know our products and know how to taste them. Additionally, we could work on segmentation because, over the last 2 years, we have seen a decline in the number of references in shops (less than 3 references for apricots, for example). Why not offer a wider range of products with different segments (first price, mid-range, premium, private label, terroir...). Finally, we could improve the dates of the changeover of origins, as well as the remunerative prices that enable producers to make a living."

A project planned for 2025, based on interdepartmental cooperation
The outlines of this progress contract are currently being finalized, and it should be offered to the main French retailers from January 2025. "We will be able to work out sales development targets with them, because we will be able to look at the performance of our members with each retailer." Decisions are usually taken by the purchasing department, but this new formula could change all that. "By offering this contract, retailers will be able to mobilize other departments, including marketing, quality, CSR, sales development and category managers."

The 13th edition of Rendez-vous de l'Arbo will be held on December 9th, 2025
"Price, Quality, Technicality: Rising to the Challenge" was the theme of the 12th Rendez-vous de l'Arbo, organized by the Fruits Plus association, based in Etoile-sur-Rhône, which brings together and supports fruit producers in the Ardèche, Drôme and Isère departments. This year's program included conferences and round tables on stone fruit, with the participation of consumer expert Olivier Dauvers (How is the consumer market evolving? How can we adapt to these changes?), Interfel president Daniel Sauvaître (How can we still create value in the future?), as well as Benoit Chauvin-Buthaud from the Drôme Chamber of Agriculture (Diversification of species: yes, but subject to conditions!), Cédric Chevalier, Cérifrais, and Christophe Gratadour from the Rhône Chamber of Agriculture, testimonial from a producer (Is the cherry really on the cake?), Sylvie Bureau from INRAE (Non-destructive and rapid measurements to decide on harvest date: the Felix Instruments analyzer), Muriel Millan from Peaches and Apricots of France (How to objectivize the cost price?) and Raphaël Martinez of Peaches and Apricots of France (What can we learn from the 2024 season and what are the prospects?). The next edition of Rendez-vous de l'Arbo will be held on December 9th, 2025.