Blue Whale
Blue Whale was founded in 1950, when a handful of fruit-growers set up business in the Garonne valley.
Convinced that there was strength in numbers, they decided to pool their means of production and commercialization with the aim of having their fruit publicized and enjoyed worldwide.
Some key dates of the group:
Why the name Blue Whale ?
The whale represents a chubby boat loaded with fruits.
The blue represents the color of horizon.
From the beginning, our fruit-growers had the whole world for horizon. Witness of this ambition, the brand sounds like a trip across the world! Poetic, easy to turn into a logotype and also universal, the blue whale has been adopted for more than 60 years and its reputation extends to the whole world. Winning bet!
The fruit-growers in the Garonne Basin group together to form an EIG and create a common trademark: Blue Whale
1969
Oscar for France’s leading apple exporter
1976
Blue Whale opens up to the French market
1982
Arrival of Jean Flaunié as President of Blue Whale
1990
Arrival of Alain Vialaret as Director of Blue Whale
1991
New clones and varieties introduced into the orchards
1993
Arrival of André Belloc as President of Blue Whale
1994
Operating plan including renewal of the orchards and the installation of covers to protect against hail
1997
ISO 9002 certification
1999
BRC certification
2002
Agri-Confiance certification
2002
GLOBALGAP certification
2004
Launch of the ARIANE variety, membership of the “Les Naturianes” group
2004
Blue Whale becomes a member of the Pink Lady® Europe Association and markets Pink Lady®
2005
Partnership with ZESPRI for the planting of 100ha of KiwiGold
2005
Blue Whale opens up to the NOVACOOP Cooperative
2006
The Pyrénées Fruits Group joins Blue Whale
2007
Launch of new varieties of plums under the ESTIVA brand
2008
Arrival of Claude Rehlinger as President of Blue Whale
2009
New premises inaugurated
2009
Launch of a plan to modernize the group’s stations (refrigeration, packing lines, etc.)
2008 to 2010
INNOPOM Project (formerly known as "zero residue")
2010
Rapprochement with the BVL Group
2014
Merger with Valdiloire company
Christophe Belloc becomes CEO of Blue Whale group.
2015
Launch of the Élément Terre Bio® brand
2017
Arrival of the Jadana cooperative
2019
Blue Whale celebrates its 50th anniversary
Arrival of the GP05 producers' group and the Superalp brand
2020
Bruno Bertheloz becomes director of Blue Whale
2020