Serge Atia delivers 800 000 meals a year to schools all over France and develops his own educative tools. It requires 20 000 euros a year.
The mad cow crisis has generated, among other things, the creation of this organic company dedicated to foodservices supply. My daughter was born at this time and I wondered what kind of healthy foods she was going to eat, Serge Atia explains, the Biofinesses Director. With his father, he realized a market research at the beginning of the year 2000 to know what the potential was for organic supplies to nurseries. The results were not that good. Considering that many nurseries are very small, it was not profitable to deliver to them taking into consideration the cost of transportation that was too important compared to the quantities delivered says Serge Atia. However, Biofinesse was created and targeted schools and high schools. If some of the 150 Biofinesses customers are nurseries, it is simply because they are gathered and managed by municipalities which make easier all deliveries.
In 2005, Biofinesse realized 1.6 millions of euros of sales by delivering 80 000 meals all over France : « We have been the first society only dedicated to foodservices. We only work with special packaging: preserve boxes 5/1, meat in pieces, single serving biscuits, » says Serge Atia. The wholesaler, who employs 10 people, delivers through two platforms : 500m² in Paris and the main storage plant in Toulouse. « We have just built a new platform next to Toulouse, right where our office is. We have 750m² there ». Biofinesse has in the same time a commercial approach and also wants to educate youth about healthier foods. The company made animations and educative supports that cost 20 000 euros a year: balloons, posters, table mat,
If the society keeps growing, Serge Atia knows the problems that are coming with the organic supply to foodservices, fairly new activity. For example, the companys supplies: It is not always easy to get big packaging from suppliers when they mostly delivers to retailers. » Serge Atia whishes that organic meals are exceptional at school. « Only 10% of our customers organize one organic meal a month. Others do it once a semester, if not once a year. Of course, cost of organic meals makes it hard to organize organic meals. However, the director knows many point that could help this. We have to educate customers and make them know that organic products are not a lot more expansive. Traditionnaly, a meal costs 1.5. With organic foods, it costs 1.70 ». While organizations are realizing this but are still ordering from wholesalers for whole meals, Biofinesse tries to increase its sales by the generalization of the purchase of one organic food along the year. Biofinesses main project for 2006 is export to Italy, Spain, UK, Belgium, Germany and of course the US.
