Biovie, a Langlade company, is exporting to American kitchens with its sprouter

For Eric Viard, co-founder of Biovie, sprouted seeds are “the food of the future”. Midi Libre – WN

Pour Eric Viard, les graines germées sont “l'aliment du futur”. Midi Libre – W.N.

Depuis septembre dernier, la société Biovie, basée à Langlade, commercialise le germoir Easygreen Sol. Un produit en faveur de l'alimentation végétale qui s'exporte aux Etats-Unis et qui séduit certains scientifiques. 

The object sits on a small stool in a corner of Eric and Aurélie Viard's kitchen. These Langlade residents are the co-founders of Biovie, a company specializing in organic and living food, which recently developed the Easygreen Sol sprouter.

The latter, made in Nîmes from a biosourced material based on sugar cane, wood and chalk, allows you to grow sprouted seeds at home. "It is really compact and therefore transportable. It can be installed in all homes, even the smallest", insists the fifty-year-old while lifting the different compartments of the sprouter. At the bottom, clover has already grown and will soon be ready to eat.

"The food of the future"

An agricultural engineer trained at ISTOM – Higher School of International Agro-Development, Eric Viard says he has always had an attraction to plants. "When I was a student, I didn't have a kitchen, and I started growing sprouts quite easily for my meals' ;quot;, says this informed vegetarian.

For him, there is no doubt, sprouted seeds are "the food of the future" . Firstly for their nutritional aspect: they provide vitamins, fatty acids and even minerals "in a form that is easier to absorb by the body than seeds ungerminated".

They also have an economic and ecological advantage: "It's eight times more expensive to buy them than to germinate them yourself. And it's a virtuous production in terms of carbon impact". If the first sprouter sold by Biovie, the Easygreen Light , operated thanks to electricity, the second, distributed since last September, the Easygreen Sol, "is completely passive". & ;nbsp;

Presented at a trade show in Los Angeles

No energy is in fact required to operate it. Once its reservoir is full, 130 ml will flow every four hours according to the principle of gravity to be distributed evenly in the tray and on the seeds through it. the holes that allow light to pass through. An innovation that also appeals across the Atlantic.

In fact, while the first sprouter had been sold, and continues to be sold, in 32 countries, the Easygreen Sol has already been requested by a reseller American. Who must present it at the Natural products Expo West show in Los Angeles, from March 12 to 16. "We hope that exports will take" , says Eric Viard.

Soon on an Antarctic base ?

In addition to a clientele wishing to favor a more plant-based diet produced ultralocally, Biovie also interests some specialists. Like these French researchers who carry out missions on the Concordia and Dumont-d’Urville Antarctic scientific bases. "They don'have no fresh food there. There is a real scientific interest in establishing a germinator there", indicates Eric Viard whose first germinator, the Easygreen Light, has already been introduced on an English basis.& ;nbsp;

Biovie was also contacted by Corentin de Chatelperron and Caroline Pultz. The two young French people, who lived four months in a "low-tech biosphere" self-sufficient in the middle of the Mexican desert, are now planning to live independently in a 25m2 studio. Objective ? Reduce their energy consumption and waste. The sprouter could thus be part of their desire for minimal impact food. 

A book on algae published by Gallimard

In addition to the sale of its sprouters as well as algae, spirulina, freeze-dried fruits, etc., Biovie also wishes to raise awareness of plant-based eating, particularly through books. Aurélie Viard has already published several recipe books with Marie-Claire Editions. On March 14, the couple will publish their first joint work, Les algae au jour, published by Gallimard. After presenting the differences between micro-algae and macroalgae, the authors detail their production methods, their nutritional benefits, and their culinary uses. Biovie has also published a few works. The company also intends to raise awareness of plant-based food in the world of French gastronomy. She will thus launch the French version by May of the courses at the Living Light Culinary Institute, specializing in raw and vegan cuisine. 

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