AZAÏS-POLITO EXCELLENCE

From the outset, Azaïs-Polito has established itself as a house of excellence recognised both in France and internationally. One of the rarest and most prestigious distinctions, the state label, entreprise du patrimoine vivant (living heritage company), rewards French companies with more than 50 years of existence and unique craftsmanship. Our CEO, Jean-Claude Polito, also holds the title of master preserving craftsman, awarded by the Chambre des métiers.

It is also recognised as a quality craftsman by the Collège Culinaire de France. Very few French companies can boast these three distinctions. It’s a testament to the rigour and exacting standards that characterise every Azaïs-Polito product.

The cannery is one of the few French companies to have won all three of these awards. This excellence is not theoretical; it is reflected in concrete awards.

In 1984, the company won the Grand Prix “Sial” in Paris, considered to be the world’s leading trade fair for food innovation. This distinction was awarded for being the first in France to offer a fish soup with its rust on top, thanks to innovative packaging. Since then, eight other Azaïs-Polito products have been recognised by Sial for their innovation combined with tradition.

More recently, the company won an award at the Épicures competition in Paris. In 2023, two bronze Epicures for the fish soup “de Roche” à la cétoise and for its rouille cétoise, which tied on the podium. In 2025, it was the turn of the cuttlefish à la cétoise to win a Silver Epicure, making it one of France’s three best prepared dishes.

Internationally, our specialities have won four awards at the World Tester international competition in London. The fish soup and the rouille cétoise each won two Greatest Gold Award One Stars, placing them once again on the podium of the best foreign products. And let’s not forget our latest creation, “octopus en colère”, meaning octopus in hot sauce, which won a gold medal at the Hérault Gourmand competition, where the cannery has already won awards eighteen times. That’s no mean feat.

But what does this recognition and all these distinctions really mean? The answer lies in the artisanal quality and faithfulness to our traditional methods that make all the difference. It all starts with the choice of ingredients: Azaïs-Polito is the biggest historical buyer of ‘rock fish’ from the four Mediterranean fish markets.

This small, rock-dwelling fish feeds on crustaceans and shellfish, giving it exceptional flavours in its flesh, which is naturally sweet and rich in nuances, almost reminiscent of the taste of shellfish. It is this same fish, carefully ground, that naturally thickens the soup without any additives. The company also stands out for its total refusal to use fish trimmings in its products. At Asaïz-Polito, these are known as bone soups, so often used in the industry to replace and fill canned fish at lower cost.

Here, the soup is made using only small, whole, quality ‘rock’ fish from the Gulf of Lyon. Last but not least, innovation at Asaïz-Polito is always achieved, as you will have gathered, by drawing on our own roots. When we canned the ‘cétoise’ rock fish soup, there was no question of tasting it without the rust.

We had to do it the way it was done in Sète. That’s why, as a logical next step, we added the “rouille cétoise”, which we maintained with a sliver batch, which was noticed at “Sial” in Paris. So we were the first and pioneers in the marketing of canned fish soup.

So many others have since copied us. We were the first to launch a collection of canned sea snails on the market. Today, we still preserve whelks in court-bouillon.

We were also the first to make lobster soups in the 80s, and fish rillettes with fruit. More recently, in 2018, Jean-Claude Polito is innovating once again with its octopus rillette, the very first on the French market. For the first time, octopus will be rilletted.

Following on from this, in 2022 the company will be canning octopus parmentier, inspired by the famous duck parmentier. These two innovations were confirmed in Paris, once again positioning the company as a leader in seafood product innovation.