Our produce and expertise
30 years of expertise in the production of Allium vegetables
Ferme de Fontenay has specialised in the production of onions, shallots, banana shallots and garlic for some thirty years. Every year, around 500 hectares of these vegetables are grown within an 80-kilometre radius straddling the Grand Est and Ile-de-France regions, more specifically along the Seine valley and in the Champagne chalk region.
With our 25 partner producers, we ensure top-quality products through comprehensive technical support.
Our produce in figures
Each year, we harvest approximately:
33,000 tonnes
of yellow onions
4,000 tonnes
of other colours of onions (red, pink, white, sweet)
1,500 tonnes
of traditional and hybrid shallots
700 tonnes
of banana shallots
300 tonnes
of garlic
200 tonnes
of silverskin onions
The right land for a year-round offering
We grow our produce along the Seine valley, which is ideal for offering French produce all year round.
Sept/Oct
Autumn planting/sowing
Feb/March
Spring planting/sowing
June
Start of harvest
Sept
End of harvest
Packing
The products are packed by a team of 60 permanent employees (excluding seasonal workers). The fully automated finished product packing centre has a production capacity of 200 tonnes per day.
It is divided into six distinct areas:
Upstream area:
Soil separator; topping, sorting, grading and hopper lines.
Semi-packaged products area:
For packing in 1,150 kg big bags.
Automated packing area:
Packing in 500 g to 3 kg net bags and 5 to 25 kg bags. Budget, core market and wholesale ranges.
Premium packing area:
Value-added products.
Manual cleaning area:
For manual cleaning of products and bulk packing.
Dispatch area:
Comprising an order preparation area where packaged products are checked and three loading bays.
Storage
Our storage buildings, located close to the fields and packing facilities, ensure optimum preservation.
Products are stored in two formats: in bulk or in wooden pallet boxes. They are dried, ventilated and then cooled. They are then stored in batches they have been allocated to back at the planting stage.
Our storage capacity is equivalent to half of our annual shipments.
Investment and innovation
We invest in buildings equipped with the latest technology to improve storage life and product quality. This is the case with our condensation drying and cooling system.
We are committed to the use of renewable energy, with:
- solar panels installed on all our storage and packing buildings, covering 80% of our energy needs.
- biogas production through the anaerobic digestion of our organic waste.