EPV – “ENTREPRISE DU PATRIMOINE VIVANT” (LIVING HERITAGE COMPANY)

Welcome to the world of the Living Heritage Company, or EPV. An exceptional distinction in France. It is the highest state recognition that a company can obtain for its know-how.

It is a truly prestigious label. Obtaining the EPV means that you are one of those French houses of excellence that defend traditional craftsmanship while adapting it to modern requirements. To qualify for this label, a number of conditions must be met.

The company must have been in existence for over 50 years, demonstrate unique know-how and often use specific machinery to optimise production while respecting traditional methods. Today, Azaïs-Polito is one of just 57 of the 1,300 companies in France to hold this label. A privilege that perfectly illustrates its place as a cannery that counts among France’s culinary heritage.

Azaîs-Polito’s story with the EPV label began thanks to the Collège Culinaire de France. In 2019, this organisation, which brings together artisans and producers committed to gastronomic excellence, encouraged the company to apply for the label, believing that its methods and know-how perfectly met the criteria for excellence. This recommendation was therefore an important discovery, an encouragement to officially recognise the work and expertise accumulated over several generations.

The application marked the start of a rigorous two-year audit, formerly conducted by the Institut des Arts et Métiers in Paris and now overseen by a Swiss-based firm of auditors for professions of excellence. The audit is not limited to verifying seniority or know-how. It also assesses the company’s social and environmental responsibility.

In this area, Azaïs-Polito is exemplary. The optimisation of artisanal production thanks to specific machines, the recycling of paper and boxes, the installation of photovoltaic panels, ergonomic workstations and digital water management illustrate a real commitment to the future and to its employees. Once it has been awarded the label, the company also has a highly controlled role to play in promoting and defending the EPV label in France and abroad. The aim is to gain recognition for this mark of excellence, which is often overlooked because it is so demanding, and to play a part in preserving and promoting excellent crafts on a national scale.

It’s this dimension of taste activism that we’re evoking throughout our visit. Today, Azaïs-Polito represents not only local expertise, but also French know-how abroad.

It is this dimension that is so important and that we want to communicate to you today. Our production machines, some of which are fifty years old, still do their job very well and are a strong symbol of this label. If a part breaks, the company has the know-how to reproduce it in-house, even if it no longer exists on the market.

This unique ability is a perfect illustration of the ingenuity and craftsmanship that have earned Azaïs-Polito the EPV label.

Every gesture, every tool, every machine tells the story of a company that has the traditions, innovations and precision to perpetuate a unique expertise in the service of taste.

This is one of the characteristics of EPV companies, i.e. places where jobs are only passed on and learnt in the company, because these are trades that cannot be learnt in a school today. As a result, these jobs are generally not relocatable and ensure the long-term survival of French know-how.