In 2009, livestock farmer Clément Guillaud from the Isère region in France saw his meat prices drop. Knowing he could no longer live on his current income, he knew he had to rethink his supply chain in an innovative way. He wanted to increase profit and reduce costs without compromising the quality of his meat or increasing environmental impact. Clément: “I found out that one of the ways to gain more profit is by direct selling and semi-direct selling, I could make from 0.40€ to 0.50€ more per kilo of carcass weight per animal”. He also discovered that regional butchers were looking to buy high quality regional meat to respond to consumer demands. As a solution for everyone involved in the food chain, Clément and the butchers established a new type of sustainable “semi-short" supply chain.

The ‘Association des éleveurs de Saveurs Iséroises’ was established in 2014 and consisted of 15 local Charolais and Limousines breeders. They started to work with 4 ‘gourmet’ butchers. The aim of the association was to connect all partners in the food system to provide superior quality meat in the Isère region. Clément: “Direct selling takes up a lot of time for the farmer, now the association takes care of logistics and marketing, allowing us to focus on our cattle and also allowing us to sell more”.