Spice company Arcadie builds new processing facility

In March 2013, Arcadie is going to open its new 2,500 m² building in which organically produced herbs and spices will be processed and packaged. France’s market leader in this segment in the wholefood trade is investing € 3.5 m in a new hall and a further € 1.5 m in new machines. Bernard Kimmel, the managing director of Arcadie, is confident that the organic market will continue to grow strongly in the years ahead. This spice company is represented in the French retail wholefood trade by the two organic brands L’Herbier de France and Cook. (Picture: The Kimmel-Brunet family : Dominique and Bernard Kimmel, Matthieu Brunet and his little daughter Luna)
“The original facility, that was built in 2005, was too small after just three years,” says Bernard Kimmel, who has been growing the company since 1989. So they had to find a solution as a matter of urgency. Support came from the mayor and the local authorities in Méjannes-Les-Alès, a small suburb of the town of Alès (41,000 inhabitants) that lies 60 km to the north of Montpellier between Provence and the Pyrenees. The plans also attracted a grant from the EU.

In the meantime, the outline of the new building on the 2 hectare site in the Rue des Arômes (picture on left) on the edge of an industrial estate is recognizable (picture on right). Diggers and cranes were moving heavy structural components as Bernard Kimmel gave Organic-Market.Info a tour of the site shortly before the summer holidays in August. Goods that are currently stored at four different locations will in future be stored, processed and packaged in a single facility – everything will be there, from the raw products that are sorted and cleaned before being chopped or ground to the filling of containers made from recycled plastic (PET), tins or paper bags, plus the storage of the final products.

The pallet capacity in the 400 m² deliveries warehouse (picture) is currently 400 on four levels. Together with the pallets in the raw product storage section, it means that they currently have about half the space that will be created for 1,800 pallets, whilst the production throughput is going to quadruple. Kimmel assumes that the number of employees (currently 50) is going to rise to 70 in the years ahead.

Arcadie’s product range consists of 200 articles, half of which come from the surrounding region - the Massif Central, Provence and Languedoc-Roussillon. Cooperation in purchasing links the tea and spice manufacturer to the firm Golgemma, a specialist wholesaler for organic ethereal oils, macerated products and hydrolates.

The product range is divided into five categories: spices, herbs, dried mushrooms, teas (black, green, herbal) and natural aromas. The spice category consists of 72 articles from A for ail (garlic) to V for vanilla. Pepper, saffron, tomato, stinging nettle, fenugreek, cloves and many mixtures for pizzas, spice bread, rice or salads also belong in this category. They sell seven types of dried mushroom from morels, chanterelles and shiitake to the dangerous sounding "trompette de la mort" (trumpet of death) which, however, is – according to Wikipedia - a splendid edible mushroom.

In the case of teas, the range on Arcadie’s internet site consists only of five varieties of black and green tea, although it offers 68 herbal teas. There is greater variety in the case of taste: on offer are eleven products manufactured with natural raw materials and with added ethanol or sugar. They also supply an interesting assortment ranging from orange, lemon and raspberry to coffee and cinnamon for the manufacture of ice cream, desserts, drinks or bakery goods. (Picture on right: Product range in the Herbier de France brand)

Bernard Kimmel reports that the spice turmeric has undergone an astonishing development: “In the last four to five years demand has risen tenfold, the reason being that various authors, in particular David Servan-Schreiber, have written about the possible link between cancer prevention and turmeric,” Kimmel explained. (Here a short video interview in French). 240,000 packs of turmeric are now supplied by Arcadie every year. This spice, that can be made stronger by enriching it with one percent of pepper, is also popular for liver and gall bladder problems. The second top seller in the Arcadie spice range is vanilla - in pods, as extract or powder - from Madagascar: it already accounts for 10 % of turnover.

It all began in1981, when Bernard Kimmel (picture) and his wife Dominique settled on 15 ha of land in the Pyrenees. As well as keeping cows, they cultivated herbs like thyme, rosemary, peppermint and estragon. In1989 they started importing spices from Madagascar, and were very insistent on the application of an organic control system. Other countries like Morocco, India and Turkey followed, where they created trade partnerships operating according to fair principles. At this point, the idea was born of developing fair trade for the future. From 1990 the Kimmels’ company has operated under the name Arcadie, that refers to the region of Arcadia in Greece and symbolizes the simple life of shepherds in harmony with nature.
In 2005, they built a facility of their own in Méjannes-Les-Alès for the 30 employees at that time. (Picture on left: Bernard Kimmel in the warehouse)

A good tenth (12 %) of production to the value of € 7 m (financial year 2011/2012) is exported to Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland and Japan. With increasing demand in these countries, this is where Bernard Kimmel sees considerable growth potential. On the domestic market, 70 % of sales are finished products and 30 % are loose goods, that go mainly to further processors who buy all the herbs and spices they need from Arcadie. As in Germany, goods are sold to the retail wholefood trade mainly via the regional organic wholesalers, and only a small proportion – 10 % of turnover – is supplied direct to shops. (Picture on right: Dried parsley in a PET container)

Arcadie has created close partnerships with the organizers of the French organic fair trade label Bio Equitable. They also developed the logo Bio Solidaire, that stands for fair payment of indigenous producers. Arcadie sources 13 different herbs that carry this logo (picture). An independent expert determines the producer price on the basis of the work involved.

Looking forward to the new building next year are not only the employees but also their children. The company is going to have its own day nursery called CardaMom so that the employees will know not only that their little ones are nearby but also that they are being fed with good organic food.

Tip:
www.arcadie-sa.fr