06/03/2025
Eric Benchetrit, president of Cafés Engagés, on the lookout for new products
Cafés Engagés works to promote specialty coffee, a high-quality but also sustainable drink discovered all over the world. The association was born following a trip to Cameroon by Davis Serruys, a caffeine manager at the head of Proqua cafés, and Eric Benchetrit, France's best roaster at the head of two coffee shops in Orléans. The two men, who had set out on a mission to revive the Cameroonian coffee industry in order to improve its quality, created Cafés Engagés on their return.
The association aims to promote a product through short and transparent channels, in cooperation with local producers, who are paid a fair price. It also wants to work with new producing regions throughout the world.
Eric Benchetrit, who has been a visitor to Gourmet Selection for several years, explains in this interview, which was conducted during the show, what attracts him to Gourmet Selection:
find his interview below:
Describe your business to us...
I have opened three shops and started roasting coffee, with a delicatessen section.
What trend have you noticed?
Today, customers want to know where the product was made, what we call traceability. For Cafés Engagés, this goes as far as the producer and the producer country. Our customers want to hear a story.
What do you expect from Gourmet Selection?
I'm looking for new products, things that could be a bit innovative and that could also be a hit in my shops.
Do you have a favorite product?
I have one: a producer who has created a nougat. In fact, nougat is often available in bars. He was clever, he changed the packaging of his nougats. He offers them in bars, a bit like a bar of chocolate with a small window. It's something I hadn't seen before. And I love it!
How would you describe Gourmet Selection in three words?
Diversity, quality, innovation.