Jean-Emmanuel Hay: Have you noticed any changes in consumer habits over time?
The Salon de l'Agriculture in Paris has given us the oppor- tunity to highlight this difference on several occasions and our rums have been rewarded for it, including most recently, in March 2023, with a gold medal. We had alrea- dy won gold in 2020 and silver in 2022. We hope that the GBH group will maintain our specificity, so that French Guiana will continue to be proud of its rum, with its very special flavour. The road has been long and full of pitfalls for me: 35 years ago, restaurant owners served rum from elsewhere; today the situation has changed on French Guianese tables. You can even have a Belle Cabresse Ti'punch on board Air Caraïbes flights.
Ernest Prévot: Yes, habits have changed. At the time, many French Guianese people lived in the countryside and they used to take the "décollage" in the morning, a 55° rum, very strong, followed by a glass of madou, a macerated fruit juice. Then there was the Ti'punch, before the meal. Today, consumption has changed and diversi- fied under various influences: we find our rum in the form of arranged rum, in the caipirinha or the mojito. Jean-Emmanuel Hay: When Rhums Saint-Maurice was sold, what guarantees did you obtain from the GBH group in order to preserve the "heritage" aspect of the rum distillery? Ernest Prévot: The rum distillery will remain in French Guiana. For me, everything that contributes to the econo- mic development of the region is Guianese. After that, we have to be realistic and adapt to change, we need resi- lience and not petty squabbles. How many non-French Guianese have contributed to boosting French Guiana! It is easy to say 'I am a French Guianese', but that is not enough: more than fifty percent of the current population is no longer of French Guianese origin and everyone contributes in their own way to development. We have to accept change. I asked the GBH group to keep our rum in Guyana. For them, this was a natural choice, as the distillery draws its identity from its Guyanese roots and its local anchorage. The west of Guyana offers good development prospects and the town of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni needs to strengthen its employment base. Agriculture and agri- food are therefore welcome, as Sophie Charles, Mayor of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, confirmed. The demographic dynamic is striking, as the town has grown from 10,000 inhabitants when we started to more than 45,000 today. I have of course asked him to keep the brand, as well as the portrait of my niece, which is the effigy of the Belle Cabresse label. Finally, development will be the priority: the population of French Guiana is growing rapidly and our rum remains a fine ambassador outside the department. I would like to finish by thanking the French Guianese consumer, who has recognized himself in our products and has accompanied us all these years. We owe him the best in the future. www.rhums-saint-maurice.com
After nine months of negotiations, I signed with GBH on 30 March 2023 in Paris. This doesn't mean that I'm reti- ring from the business immediately: the handover will take place gradually, during the year, and then I'll remain a consultant to support the new local development. Western French Guiana offers few industrial activities, but the rum factory will be a source of local employment. GBH was the only group able to meet my expectations, namely to secure and perpetuate the production of our rum. On the other hand, it will be able to promote our rum in the world and I could proudly tell the President of the Territorial Collectivity of French Guiana how much I have contributed to raising our region to the rank of world crossroads of excellence, thanks to international cooperation.
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~C L A S S & R E L A X L I F E S T Y L E M A G A Z I N E - 2023 ~
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