Pujols. Rare oils are made at Perles de Gascogne<

Located at the bottom of the slopes of Pujols, at a place called "Vidalou", Perles de Gascogne produces rare oils, including that of plum kernels.

At the bottom of the slopes of Pujols, at a place called "Vidalou", are the SARL Perles de Gascogne, which manufactures and sells rare oils (walnuts, hazelnuts, prune kernels, etc.), and the EARL de Vidalou, which produces nuts. “My father, Jean-Pierre Clavié, took over the farm. He planted hazelnut trees. In 1995, after my studies, I came back and brought a commercial dimension to hazelnut oil. My father had the idea of ​​trying to make oil from the kernels of prune pits. It took two years to get permission from Brussels. In 2002, a large cosmetic laboratory became interested in prune kernel oil. This really started Perles de Gascogne in the cosmetics department. We also added organic prune kernel oil and almond exfoliating powder,” says Nathalie Barrère, who took over the company in 2008 with her brother-in-law Christophe Merle. The oils produced and distributed are first cold-pressed virgin oils. Nathalie Barrère has worked to develop export markets. Today, Perles de Gascogne oils are sold all over the world: England, Germany, USA, Japan, Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, Australia, South Korea, Spain... In France, the great chefs also use them: Mariotat, Blanchet, Bras, Pic, Sarran Troisgros, Ducasse, and in Villeneuvois, Le Jasmin, La Toque-Blanche, Le Glacier, La Table des sens…

“From 2013, we put a lot of effort into developing our organic cosmetics. “The Aquitaine Limousin and Poitou-Charentes Development and Innovation Agency has brought together all the cosmetics producers to build a sector. And we are developing a lot in cosmetics in France, in Europe and around the world”.

Because the oils produced by Perles de Gascogne can be used in food, cooking, baking… but also for application to the skin, for massage. “Prune almond oil brings together the nutritional qualities of olive oil. It holds heat, its acids are good for health. It has a very pronounced taste of almond, it is used as a food flavoring. In cosmetics, it brings together the qualities of olive oil, sweet almond, by its composition. It is an oil which hydrates, not allergen, which leaves a very pleasant odor on the skin”.

An investment of €500,000 in 2017

In 2017, Perles de Gascogne invested in order to be able to process more prune stones from all prune processors, “to be able to wash, dry and produce on site, notes Nathalie Barrère. The washing-drying part was operational in 2018, the oil comes out of here. Now that we have presses, we will be able to launch other oils from co-products from the food industries, again for cosmetic use. It should be noted that the washing water is recovered by the Villeneuve methanisation plant”. Perles de Gascogne aims to obtain the ISO 9001 standard by the end of 2018.