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OUR STORY
Discover our key dates
1980
1980 - 1998
1998 - 2004
2005 - 2019
2021
1980
1980
THE BIRTH OF BIOLANDES, A PRODUCER OF NATURAL PLANT EXTRACTS
Our story begins in the Landes region of southwestern France in the late 1970s.
Founder Dominique Coutière decides to locate his company in the heart of Europe’s largest planted maritime pine forest in order to distill extracts from maritime pine needles. Under his initiative, conventional distillation techniques are modernized with the development of a continuous process, which later is also used to distill cistus and mosses.
1980 - 1998
1980 – 1998
INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION
We gradually expands its range of aromatic ingredients, setting up supply channels in the countries where the plants grow naturally or are traditionally farmed.
1988
THE FOUNDING OF BIOLANDES ANDALUSIA
Our first subsidiary is founded in the arid Andévalo region of Spain’s Huelva Province, where the hillsides are covered with wild cistus. The installation of an extraction facility gives us direct control over the production of cistus and labdanum extracts.
1991
THE FIRST ROSE HARVEST IN TURKEY
We open a production unit in Turkey’s Isparta Valley, whose breeze-swept hills are home to the world’s finest roses for perfumery. We begin distilling their oils and producing extracts.
1995
THE MADAGASCAN ADVENTURE BEGINS
We launch cultivation of ylang-ylang in northwestern Madagascar, distilling the flowers picked daily in its groves. The operation gradually expands with the addition of vetiver and palmarosa, as well as vanilla, kaffir lime and patchouli, enriching the palette of extracts produced at the Ambanja site.
1997
ARRIVAL IN BULGARIA
We acquire and renovates an old distillation factory in Kazanlak, in Bulgaria’s Rose Valley, planting and cultivating 100 hectares (nearly 250 acres) of Rosa damascena for harvest. Later, building on this experience, we diversifie its crops by planting the first fields of organic lavender.
1998
BIOLANDES MOROCCO: FROM NORTH TO SOUTH
Biolandes Morocco is founded after the acquisition of two production sites, one in northern Morocco specializing in the cultivation and processing of bitter orange, and one in the south for the processing of rose and armoise (artemisia) gathered in the highlands. Over the years, new crops are introduced, including mimosa, laurel, everlasting, wild chamomile and rose.
1998 - 2004
1998 – 2004
CONSOLIDATION OF THE BIOLANDES GROUP AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE HEAD OFFICE
1998
ACQUISITION OF THE GRASSE PRODUCTION PLANT
2005 - 2019
2005 – 2019
DEVELOPMENT OF SUPPLY CHAINS AND EXTERNAL GROWTH
Following the success of our sites founded in the 1990s, we pursue the integration of our strategic supply chains, investing in the acquisition of specialized companies in order to expand its product range and serve new markets.
2006
ACQUISITION OF THE VALREAS PRODUCTION SITE IN PROVENCE (FRANCE)
We acquire a distillery in the Provençal town of Valréas, which it uses to process the aromatic plants of that terroir, including lavender, thyme and sage, as well as more exotic products like maté and mosses.
2014
BIOLANDES IN THE COMOROS
2015 – 2016
INTEGRATION OF FYTOSAN AND GOLGEMMA
Biolandes group integrates Fytosan, a company in the Drôme region engaged in the production of natural aromatic plant extracts, and Golgemma, an organic essential oils specialist based in the Aude region. They supplement our product range and contribute their expertise in the cosmetics and aromatherapy sectors. With these acquisitions, Golgemma’s growing operations and distillery in Madagascar also become part of our group.
2021
