Context
Once upon a time ... a mom who wanted to do good. Make her children happy by offering them more fruit and vegetables… and also, it must be said, a real desire to develop a business! The products of There once was a fruit/Il était un fruit are above all absolutely delicious because it is essential to enjoy good things! Il était un fruit hopes to combine pleasure, health and the environment, with an overflowing desire to see the good side of life!
Project
It all started in 2013 in the garage of this young mother's house in a village near Montpellier. Does that remind you of another story? Well yes, sorry, it's not just in American startups that everything starts in a garage! Il était un fruit ... also has its little romantic story. We take no pride in it, that's just how it happened. A household dehydrator, good seasonal fruit from the region and lots of trials and perseverance! Not so easy to find and associate the right varieties of apples, pears, peaches, apricots or strawberries with the right drying times. A real headache. But the main thing was elsewhere ... the most important was always the motivation of this mom to imagine solutions in order to encourage her children to eat more fruit. The bet was more than successful since even Dad joined in! And Il était un fruit ... was born.
Il était un fruit ... a slightly crazy bet in this world of sophistication and excess performance? Not so sure that it is so crazy. Just a real desire to offer a truly 100% natural alternative for all occasions of small breaks for both children and adults. And when we talk about 100% natural in Il était un fruit ... we are not exaggerating : nothing but dried fruit and vegetables, without any additives. You could say that we put a small portion of Nature in each of our sachets to make things a little easier…
Since the beginning of the adventure of Il était un fruit ... we have made 3 strong commitments which make our approach unique and which we respect for all of our products:
- No additives, simply dried fruit and vegetables
- A privileged "south of France" origin. In all cases, the fruit and vegetables are all grown in France and processed in our workshop in Montpellier. The fruit and vegetables therefore come from different farmers who engage in eco-responsible practices, 95% are located 200km from the drying workshop, like the producer Cofruidoc for example, and 100% are in France.
- Finally, an approach that values fruit and vegetables that are because they have small visual defects. On the other hand, we choose varieties that are intense in taste and ripe fruit in order to obtain products rich in flavors with nothing else to add!
Means
Year after year the team is getting stronger. Today we are a team of 15 people between workshop activity, administration and sales. To which must be added the help of a few "seasonal workers" in order to cope with peaks in manufacturing linked to harvest periods. We are particularly attached to the women and men who make up this team and try to maintain a united spirit around the key values that drive us every day.
The Little Extra
Il était un fruit ...today offers different ranges of products, adaptable to all situations: The 100% Fruit Break (with the gourmet, tonic, detox break, in 30g format), The Pocket Range (15g formats ideal for small appetites), the 100% Natural Aperitif (4 references of crisp fruit and vegetables not fried, just with spices, in 50 g packages), The Ingredients (because they also make petals / cubes of dried fruit in bulk for hotels , bulk stores ... perfect for healthy topping or sauce adaptation) and soon My organic snack of crunchy and wavy apples, plain or infused with strawberries.
Written by Clémence Guignard, LFC volunteer - May 2019.
Last modification : 30 Apr 2020.
There once were a fruit
There once were a fruit..., it's the wonderful story of a 100% pleasure break. This company in creation offers delicious petals of dehydrated fruit.