La Compagnie Fermière: Shops of local producers, with a little something extra ...

La Compagnie Fermière is 2 stores of local producers in the southwest. But it is above all (and this is their little extra) a great team of taste enthusiasts, dynamic and friendly! The first, which is also the producer shop in Gradignan and the second producer shop in Mérignac. You will find everything you need for food shopping, but only with fresh, seasonal, short-circuit and carefully selected products from around a hundred producers in the region! It is the ideal place to find local products, fruits, vegetables, meat, wines and spirits, beers, honey and other products processed in an artisanal way: preserves and jars. All this will be offered to you at an unbeatable price/quality ratio , because it is directly from the producer to the consumer or from the field to the plate if you prefer! We take you to meet these men and women who have chosen to come together to offer their loyal customers (locals and tourists) a unique offer of products from the southwest.

Photos of the article © La Compagnie Fermière

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A story of friendship and the desire to offer a different local business

Direct selling , they know! The 7 producers initially grouped together for the creation of La Compagnie Fermière, whose first store in Gradignan opened its doors in August 2012, have been established for at least 30 years. They sell the fruit (and the vegetable!) of their work directly from their farm. But one day, 10 years ago, they find themselves dreaming of a store that offers a group of diverse and varied products, offering the consumer in one place, the extent of the delights of cultivation, breeding and processing ( artisanal, no industrial product at La Compagnie Fermière) from the Gironde and surrounding areas.

They are 7, men and women who, around the aperitif, opened their address book to choose 50 complementary producers, thus expanding the range of products they could offer in their store. In August 2012, the Gradignan store, which covers 400m2, opened its doors and it was a great success! 4 years later, they opened a second store in Mérignac, with a sales area of 600m2, this time. Success too. If it has been the fashion for shops and producer shops for a few years, La Compagnie Fermière is one of the precursors and offers an almost unique offer in Gironde. Their customers are locals who come here to do their shopping regularly, sometimes daily, like in a convenience store. Others come from afar, sometimes from the Bassin d'Arcachon! Holidaymakers are not mistaken either, they come to stock up on food during their holidays in Gironde.

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Quality, not quantity!

Here, it's 100% artisanal and these artisans of the land work just in time with respect to their sales process. This means that if it is a tomato year, there will be a full and beautiful ray, but when there are no more, there are no more! The shelves are stocked with available, cultivated products , those that the earth has been able to offer. Customers who come regularly appreciate the diversity of the offer, it's like a restaurant where the menu changes every day according to arrivals. This is home-made! All the producers are there because they respect specifications, which insist in particular on the fact that it is necessary to produce quality and not quantity, in the healthiest conditions for producers and the environment. When a farmer wishes to join La Compagnie Fermière, he comes to meet the store team, who will taste the products on offer (the base, the taste!) and ensure that the working conditions comply with the specifications. Producers are not in competition. There is only one tomato producer and when a product already exists, we will not reference it but on the contrary look for a complementary one. Apart perhaps for honey, which releases its specificities and its taste from its terroir, then you will have honey from Lot-et-Garonne, but also from Gironde, Landes, Dordogne...

Local and seasonal products

No bananas at the Compagnie Fermière… And no, because these are only local, fresh products that follow the seasons. The furthest producer, and this is an exception, is in Corsica and supplies Clementines from Corsica and Pomelos. For the rest, it's Made in the South-West! By holding these objectives , the concept is appreciated by consumers, who trust (and rightly so), with their eyes closed, the small team of taste enthusiasts.

Following the passing of the seasons is a choice that came naturally and which also helps to educate people in the taste for good things. Good ripe fruits and vegetables, picked conscientiously and at maturity, it's a real pleasure! Meat and cheese also have their season, depending on the birth of the animals, and the availability of milk, the ripening time of the cheeses. Regarding wines and spirits, we agree that there is only the embarrassment of choice in the region! Also come and discover products from neighboring departments, small nuggets and pearls selected by the La Compagnie Fermière store team. Emerging, young, ambitious and motivated producers are also welcome, they are valued to the maximum to encourage them and introduce their products to the regulars of the store, which already has a good quality clientele thanks to its 10 years of seniority.

Push the door of one of the 2 Compagnie Fermière stores in Gradignan or Mérignac. If you like beautiful fruits and vegetables, quality meat raised in tradition and with respect for the animal, tasty cheeses, selected wines and spirits, condiments, honey, sweet or savory delicacies produced locally and respecting ancestral recipes, you will be won over!

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