Introduce us Terre Vaudoise.

Terre Vaudoise belongs to the Professional Agricultural Defence Terre Vaudoise. Our mission is to guarantee our customers (companies and individuals) fresh, high-quality and local products (producers from the Canton of Vaud) and to help them discover other Swiss regions. Thus, companies like yours have a precise listing of certified producers. We work transparently with all our producers.

We control the quality of our products, we require that the products be natural and that 80% of the raw materials come from the Canton of Vaud, in order to promote the local economy.

We have been offering an e-shop on our website for a few months now with the possibility of picking up our products in stores.

We sell our products in our two stores, La Halle de Lausanne and L’Épicerie of Pully. Our wholesale distributor supplies restaurants and shops. We make fresh baskets available in our shops and deliverable with the start-up Dring Dring with whom we have been working for 8 years, who delivers to offices and private individuals. We also sell an average of 3000 personalized gift baskets per year that our customers can order on our website. Then, we offer a catering activity with more than 700 private and corporate events all year round. We also have a Beer Box that people can receive monthly. This is an opportunity for our suppliers to make themselves known and for our customers to discover new artisanal beers every month.

Where do you deliver your products?

For the moment we only deliver to the Canton of Vaud and Zurich. We occasionally deliver to Geneva for gift baskets.

What does your work at Terre Vaudoise consist of?

When I started 11 years ago, I was in charge of the General Secretariat of the Saveurs du Jura Vaudois. Today, I am in charge of the mandates of the Canton of Vaud to be able to certify our products.

Who are your collaborators?

We are mainly a women’s team but we recently hired a man as a cook.
We are very committed to the well-being of our employees and participate in their development within the structure.

What are the main events on which Terre Vaudoise is present?

On average, we spend 130 days a year on events in French-speaking Switzerland with busy periods.

Christmas is an intense period: we are present at the Montreux Christmas market for 30 days and then also at the Lausanne market with our participation in the Igloo du Terroir Vaudois.

The Paléo Festival is also a major event: we have been running a restaurant there for 11 years.

Then, we regularly organize days of discovery of the mountain pastures in the Jura from the Canton of Vaud. Visitors can enjoy a rich experience by immersing themselves in the daily life of the alpine chalets.

Your sector of activity is more and more competiting. How do you live it?

At first, we had a unique and innovative concept and then we had to face competition as in all sectors. We have products at competitive prices with a good reputation, so it’s not a problem. The objective today is to certify our products so as not to lie to consumers.

In your opinion, what are the consumption habits of today?

Looking at the origin of products is not yet an established habit among people. However, we are seeing an interest in this new way of consuming. This trend is very good news and brings a number of challenges for producers.

These consumers who buy “local” want diversity in their dishes, a challenge that agriculture must work to create. Producers must now increase their efforts to make the right product available at the right time.

Another challenge is to get consumers used to eating more than just beautiful food. The idea is that they can realize that the fruit does not necessarily have to be beautiful to be eaten and enjoyed.

These needs for diversity, immediacy or aesthetics sometimes go against our values. The objective is to find the right balance between these new consumption habits and our work.

For my part, as a consumer, I think we must take care of the environment in which we live and breathe: learn not to be too greedy and to appreciate what our land can offer us.

What are your future challenges?

A human challenge first of all with the stabilization of our teams because we are restructuring this year.

Then, 2nd challenge, the development of our website and online sales.

Finally, that we have more local products on the shelves of supermarkets and wholesalers.

But in my opinion, the biggest challenge is to better communicate with our producers about changing consumption habits. We are constantly confronted with our customers, so we are the best ambassadors to ensure that our producers receive the right feedback.

How do you perceive the Starling Hotel Lausanne? Have you already experienced our offers (accommodation, restaurant, conferences, etc…)?

I had the opportunity to eat in your restaurant where I had a very pleasant time.

I find that your hotel fits well with the Lausanne context because it corresponds to the demand and is located not far from the lake with renowned companies.

Lausanne is a multicultural city, very active with constant events and tends to become a first-class tourist destination, which is very promising for your hotel.

We are very pleased to work with Starling Hotel Lausanne and look forward to continuing this collaboration.