Préférence Provence is a label created by Métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence and the Bouches-du-Rhône department to identify and promote local know-how. It groups together all those who make Provence so exciting and enticing to allow the consumer to identify local produce and the men and women behind them, who in turn commit to quality, short distribution channels and local production.
Here are just some examples of brands that have signed up to the Préférence Provence label: Savons de Saint-Victor, a Marseille-based soap manufacturer to be found Place Saint-Victor where many of the city’s soap-makers used to be based. The brand commits to perpetuating true Marseille know-how.
Famethic is a perfect illustration of the approach to quality. This workshop-boutique for fine leather-goods in Marseille is the place to come to create your own personalised article and discover a few of their production secrets.
In Aubagne, Poterie Ravel is one of the oldest ceramic works in France. This is a family-run pottery that has been operating for over 180 years. The traditional know-how has been handed down through five generations, each piece being hand-made and stamped with the name of the potters. The vases and tableware are a unique guarantee of an exclusive product.
In Aix-en-Provence a family of farmers have been working the land for generations to produce an extra virgin PDO olive oil named La Perdrière. The oil is produced from the estate’s olives then mechanically cold pressed for an exclusive oil with a unique taste.
For the past year, Spiruline des Oliviers have been producing a high-quality and hand crafted spirulina that is pesticide and herbicide free and contains neither GMOs nor additives. Olive oil and spirulina 100% Made In France, and Made In Provence!
Next up is a little local delicacy for those with a sweet-tooth, the Léonard Parli confectionary founded in 1874 by a Swiss confectioner Léonard Parli who discovered the famous calison during a trip to Aix-en-Provence. He was so taken in by it he founded the town’s first calison factory. The two families that today own the institution continue to keep the Parli production method a secret, guaranteeing continued quality and expertise. The boutique in the very heart of Aix-en-Provence is a listed local heritage site.
