Episode 33 — Ethically sourced ingredients hold a special place for PROVA

Company execs talk about sustainability and more.

In Episode 33 of the “Let’s Talk Dairy Podcast,” Muriel Acat-Vergnet, president and CEO; Juan Felipe Rivera Carreno, manager of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); and Julie Pickette, marketing services manager for PROVA Inc., discuss ethically sourced ingredients and sustainability at the Montreuil, Ile-de-France, France-headquartered company.

Muriel Acat-Vergnet, the third generation of the Acat family to lead PROVA, has been president and CEO since 2008. With early experience in sales and marketing at the French corporation, she joined the family company in 1993 as PROVA’s sales and marketing manager, steadily rising through the ranks. Now president and CEO, Muriel is passionate about vanilla, an ingredient central to PROVA’s business, and she actively shapes the company’s sourcing strategy.

Juan Felipe Rivera Carreno oversees the company’s sustainable vanilla and cocoa sourcing initiatives. In this role, he diligently ensures PROVA’s supply chain adherence to global human rights, equitable wages, safe labor conditions, and environmental conservation practices. He maintains close relationships with key stakeholders within the vanilla industry through PROVA’s participation in its Sustainable Vanilla Initiative (SVI).

Julie Pickette’s journey began in pastry arts, where she achieved numerous awards, including a gold medal in the “Skills USA National Commercial Baking” competition as well as a variety of awards in Boston’s Gingerbread Competition and the California Raisin Bread Competition. In her current role, she infuses culinary insights into marketing campaigns, combined with large-scale event planning. This showcases her deep understanding of PROVA’s extracts and flavors and their appeal to PROVA’s clients.

The three PROVA executives discuss:

Who PROVA is and what it does.
PROVA’s ethically sourced ingredients effort and its Sustainable Vanilla Program.
How the company ensures it has sustainable ingredients that also offer plenty of flavor.
The company’s quality-of-life initiatives beyond ingredients.
How the dairy industry can share and utilize ethically sourced ingredients and sustainability.

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Brian Berk has been a writer and editor for 21 years. He has served as editor-in-chief of the Music & Sound Retailer and managing editor of Convenience Store News, both the top-circulated magazines in their respective fields. Berk has also held editing and writing roles in drug store retail, photography, and natural health products. Holding a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Cortland and a master’s degree from Quinnipiac University, Berk lives in Port Washington, N.Y., with his wife and two children.