Interview between ACCRO and EcoTrail Paris

A specialist in plant-based alternatives and convinced of the need to preserve our planet, ACCRO is joining the EcoTrail Paris adventure for the next three years. The company is partnering the event for its eco-responsible commitments and to accelerate awareness-raising among its community of runners and volunteers.

Discover the interview between Renaud Saisset, General Manager of ACCRO, and Romain Piau, Partnership Manager of the EcoTrail Paris.

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This year, ACCRO is committed to the EcoTrail Paris. How do you feel about this new partnership?

Renaud Saisset

We're delighted to be working with EcoTrail Paris. There are a lot of similarities in our projects. There's a real desire to make a positive impact on the environment. We're a fairly new company. Our aim is to reduce carbon emissions by trying to cut down on meat consumption and promoting access to a more plant-based diet. Today, meat-based diets are responsible for 15% of greenhouse gas emissions. This challenge is reflected in the EcoTrail Paris, which aims to raise awareness and inform its community about the climate emergency. So we have a lot in common, both in our mission and in the way we go about it. So this partnership made sense for us.

Romain Piau

We're continuing with the strategy we've been developing over the last few years. Above all, EcoTrail Paris wants to find players who share the same values and have the same environmental DNA as we do. With this partnership, we feel we're taking our approach even further by focusing on one of our key sectors: food. ACCRO, which is launching into the plant-based market, aims to educate people in a new way of eating. This approach is in line with our desire to raise community awareness. We need to encourage them to take action. Today, we can find plant-based products that have taste and flavor. This young, dynamic company will help us to raise public awareness through concrete actions.

What commitments will be made during this partnership?

Renaud Saisset

This partnership will focus on two areas of development. One will focus on raising public awareness and the other on promoting our products. There's a real need to raise awareness of climate issues. Many of us have become aware of these issues, but we don't necessarily know how to act on a daily basis, in our plates for example. ACCRO would like to contribute its expertise in the field of nutrition. We want to raise awareness of the fact that you can decarbonize your plate and still have something that's good for your health. There are a lot of preconceived ideas about plant-based products. We also plan to raise awareness of these products. The public needs to discover and, above all, taste them to get a real idea of what plant-based products are all about. Plant-based products can indeed be good.

Romain Piau

ACCRO is going to help us with the whole food issue. This has always been a key issue at the EcoTrail Paris. We've always made a point of distributing local, low-environmental-impact and, above all, tasty products. Vegetalizing our diet by reducing meat consumption is an important action for us. We believe strongly in the importance of food and the environment. This partnership confirms that commitment.

How will ACCRO contribute to this partnership in the field?

Renaud Saisset

‍We've had a chef working with us since the beginning of the adventure. It's with him that we work on taste. He designs recipes for consumers, but also for catering professionals. For the EcoTrail Paris, his mission will be to develop specific recipes throughout the week for the volunteers present at the event, as well as for the runners. It's an opportunity for us to showcase our products in the best possible conditions. We know that the first experience is decisive.

Romain Piau

ACCRO will be a real support in the food area. The company will be helping us produce menus for volunteers and runners throughout the week of the EcoTrail Paris. One of their chefs will work in collaboration with our food service provider to offer vegetarian meals. We currently have 700 volunteers mobilized for the event. They will have the opportunity to taste these products at each of their meals. What's more, our runners, especially those in the 80km race, will also be able to sample these meals on arrival on race day.

Do you feel that athletes today are particularly keen on this type of diet?

Renaud Saisset

‍Trailrunners are people who are sensitive to their diet. This partnership is therefore a good alternative for raising awareness of plant-based foods among this target group. In recent years, there have been a lot of prejudices about this diet. Athletes were afraid of the impact of such products on their performance. Today, more and more are convinced of the benefits, with the added bonus of a real improvement in their performance. At EcoTrail Paris, we'll have the opportunity to raise awareness of our products among this population, who are already particularly concerned about the environment. Our aim will be to encourage them to continue to act outside the event.

Romain Piau

As attitudes in society evolve, our runners are becoming more and more sensitive to this plant-based diet. We have always offered them a fairly varied range of foods at our event. We are aware that our community is asking questions about the impact of such a diet on their performance. In recent years, however, we've noticed a growing demand. EcoTrail Paris has a duty to take concrete action. This partnership will really reinforce this strategy with our participants.

What are the benefits of this partnership for EcoTrail Paris?

Renaud Saisset

Our brand is only 4 months old. We're currently putting together a promotional plan to raise awareness of the brand and our products. This partnership with EcoTrail Paris really makes sense in terms of values and actions. We're going to try to work together in the best possible way to help this association grow.

Romain Piau

Our partnership extends over the next three years. We'll see how long it takes to set things up. The aim of this first edition together will be to introduce people to the event and the riders. We'd like to gradually build up a year-round program around the theme of food and eco-responsibility.