AZAÏS-POLITO A STORY OF GOOD TASTE

The story of Azaïs-Polito is first and foremost that of two local families united by a passion for a job well done. Two names, two worlds that came together, the Politos from Italy and the Azaïs from Maréor in the Mediterranean. Their association, on 19 September 1963, gave birth to a canning factory that has become emblematic of Cétois know-how.

It all began at the end of the 19th century, when the Polito family moved from the small fishing village of Borg-di-Gaet, 70 km north of Naples in Italy, to Sète. Giovanni Polito, later renamed Jean Polito, founded the Vermicellerie Napolitaine, the first dry pasta factory in Sète, in 1903. At that time, Sète was spelt C E deux T E, because it was before 1928.

At that time, the French ate vermicelli as a soup. The Italians brought with them the production of larger pasta. For this reason, they were nicknamed macaroni.

The Politos introduced a new culture of taste and precision to Sète. And this demand for craftsmanship would never leave the family. For three generations, the Politos made dry pasta, then fresh pasta with fillings such as ravioli or cannelloni.

Ingenious and passionate, they even design their own machines, adapting tools and inventing small prototypes to optimise traditional production without ever losing the craftsman’s touch. Jean-Claude Polito, the current CEO, is the fourth manufacturer in this line. He learned the trade alongside his father in the family factory in the Perrière district.

On the other side are the Azaïs, the people of the sea, mariner and oyster farmer. Georges Azaïs is a leading figure in Sète’s fishing industry. Founder of the first fish auction in Sète, he was known for his vision and daring.

He set the price of blue fish throughout the Mediterranean and financed the first fridges for fishermen out of his own pocket, simply to move his port forward. He was a man of conviction, but also a man of flair. He understood before anyone else that sardines, a fragile resource, were going to become scarce and that soon there would be no more anchovy and sardine canning factories in the Mediterranean.

Unfortunately, time proved him right. This is how Georges Azaïs and his brother-in-law Jean Polito, both entrepreneurs, began to combine their activities. Jean had just inherited his father’s pasta factory, he had mastered the mechanical production machinery and made a few preserves from octopus and tomato sauce when he had a little of the delicious filling he used to make ‘tielles’, the famous cétoise pies.

The filling is made from octopus that he buys from Georges, who has prospered in the fish trade, becoming one of the biggest picklers in the Mediterranean at the time in the space of a decade. One day, over a Sunday family meal in the beach hut, the two brothers-in-law decided to set up a new business for the children in the family, a traditional canning factory specialising in fish from the Cétoise region. Georges would provide the fish and Jean the premises, the machinery and the canning techniques.

Two families, two professions, the world of fish and the world of manufacturers who have decided to combine their expertise. The new company was to be called Azaïs-Polito, with the hyphen between the family names, because it symbolised the union of the two families. The first steps were taken in a small corner of Jean Polito’s fresh and filled pasta factory, where the new company was given 20 square metres of floor space.

A single pot, a pedal-powered certising machine and a shared dream: to make canned seafood products and introduce Cétoise specialities to the world. Jean-Claude Polito, still a teenager, joined the workshop at the age of 17. He learnt everything: how to deliver, how to create recipes, how to set up and build special machines, how to crack eggs and how to label.

He creates and innovates, product ranges, packaging and marketing. He does everything from A to Z. His parents, uncle and aunt are never far away to give him the best advice.