Aurélien Delecroix, a dedicated athlete, discovered a few years ago that hemp provided him both nutrition and better recovery.
Eager to share these benefits with as many people as possible, he founded the French startup Green Leaf Company in 2017 with the goal of boosting the French hemp industry.
France, one of the largest hemp producers in the world, ironically lags behind in the production of hemp as a food item, even though it is more profitable for farmers than growing hemp for insulation, bird seed, or fishing nets.
Four years after starting Green Leaf, Aurélien founded the Professional Hemp Union, which brings together more than 120 members around the mission of restoring value to agriculture and preparing for the challenges of tomorrow.
Hemp, a super food since the dawn of time
“The Gauls [the predecessors of modern France] already consumed hemp 2000 years ago,” said Aurélien.
Green Leaf has crafted a wide range of ‘ready to eat’ hemp-based products that allows for a healthy lifestyle while protecting the environment.
The main goals are to work to reintroduce hemp into the daily diet and educate the market on hemp’s many virtues: as a supply of vegetable proteins, fibers, mineral salts, vitamins and an excellent omega3 / omega6 ratio.
Green Leaf’s Brands
Hello Joya! and What the Hemp? are two brands from the Green Leaf company, with their colorful ‘made in ePac’ packaging, joyfully challenge consumers to make them aware of the multiple benefits of hemp in all its forms. It is the meeting of cutting-edge digital printing and a secular plant…
Hello Joya
HELLO JOYA, A brand distributed in organic stores and on the internet, offers 3 ranges according to needs:
Boost: teas, proteins and energy bars
Yum: flour, oil, shelled seeds, granolas, cookies, spreads and bites
Relax: infusions and CBD oils
And soon a vegetable slice.
What the Hemp
WHAT THE HEMP, a brand referenced at Monoprix and also available online, offers a beautiful 100% organic and 100% vegan selection of bites, cookies, granolas, bars, spreads, infusions and CBD oils.
Quality and Eco-responsibility
Hemp is considered a sustainable agricultural product. It does not require irrigation or fertilizers and has a negative carbon footprint. It restructures the soil and promotes biodiversity.
“And all the parts of the plant are valuable: stem, flowers, seeds and roots!” adds Aurélien.
Green Leaf carefully selects its organic raw materials in order to meet the rigorous specifications that govern the development of all its “natural, beautiful and good” products.
Quality ingredients, processes and packaging were all designed to protect the hemp since it oxidizes so quickly.
The packaging must also be 100% recyclable, according to standards set by the French not-for-profit CITEO (founded with a view to reduce the environmental impact of packaging and paper), a standard which will be fully in effect by 2022.
Green Leaf and ePac, the fiber of innovation
Aurélien said: “ePac was the first company to provide us with the real assurance of recyclability for our (flat bottom) stand-up pouches while guaranteeing the optimal conservation of our products. They offered us tailor-made solutions.”
ePac supplies Green Leaf with flat bottom pouches in 100% matte PE. There is an additional protective barrier which gives them a soft touch, as well as rolls printed in BOPP metallic or non-metallic.
“We now have around thirty different packages, whereas previously it was necessary to manually paste the different labels on the same generic sachet”, Aurélien said.
Digital printing also makes it possible to produce small runs (from 5,000 to 15,000 bags) in a very short time (10 days for the rolls and 15 days for the bags), with an excellent value for money.
Aurélien adds: “We are in a continuous iteration process, with a significant turnover of stocks. Thanks to its responsiveness, ePac makes it possible to effectively support small innovative structures like ours in their development.”
And Aurélien concludes: “I would like to work with all companies as I work with ePac!” And it is mutual!
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