Economic sovereignty: say it with the Origine France Garantie label
During the health crisis, the desire to consume local products was reinforced. Much more precise than the “made in France” label, the Origine France Garantie (OFG) label is a guarantee of safety and quality that is winning over more and more companies and their customers. Particularly in the medical equipment sector. A move that should accompany the post-Covid-19 era, and is in line with the idea of economic sovereignty promoted by the Elysée Palace.
Relocate production, reduce environmental impact, consume French… With the issue of masks ordered from Asia, to compensate for the lack of stocks and inertia of the local production apparatus, the health crisis of spring 2020 has given a boost to these trends that were already emerging. Similarly, confinement has prompted consumers deprived of the opportunity to travel to buy products made close to home and delivered to their door, in short circuits.
At the end of April 2020, two surveys confirmed this: according to 42% of respondents, one of the priority measures for companies should be to relocate their factories and production to France. And during the confinement period, 45% of French consumers preferred products from France, and 37% preferred fresh produce and products from short distribution channels. Against this backdrop, the Origine France Garantie (OFG) label, created in 2011 by the business association Pro France, takes on even greater significance. As Khadim Sambé, sales engineer at AFNOR Certification, which distributes the audit-based label, explains, ” over the past six months, requests for certification have exploded, and those received by us have increased by 20% since last March “.
The Origine France Garantie label: a competitive advantage
The health and care sector, directly affected by the covid-19 affair, is among the first to play on this string. For example, Novacel, which produces ophthalmic prescription lenses in Château-Thierry (Aisne), has been a 100% French manufacturer since its creation in 1994. ” We were awarded the OFG label in 2015,” explains Roberto D’Agostino, HR Director and Head of Quality and Certifications. And we go even further, since all our operations are located in France, a criterion not taken into account by the label. The latter proves to our optician customers and spectacle wearers that our lenses are indeed made here. It’s a real competitive advantage! “The OFG label guarantees that the product ” takes its essential characteristics from France” and that “at least 50% of its cost price is French “.
The label offers a real competitive advantage
Roberto D’Agostino, HR Director and Head of Quality and Certifications at Novacel Optical
The same is true of HMS-VILGO, a medical equipment manufacturer: ” HMS was awarded the label in 2014, followed by VILGO a year later,” explains Frédérick Jude, VILGO’s Managing Director. Despite a lack of communication, this label is recognized and taken seriously. The difficulty of obtaining it and the constraints it represents are proof of this. “For Dr Renaud Boisseau, head of analytical chemistry at Lips France, a manufacturer of e-liquids for electronic cigarettes awarded the label in 2019, “ Made in France means everything and its opposite, whereas the OFG label implies compliance with precise criteria, the opposite of self-declaration. It’s a stronger guarantee of quality and safety “. Customers are not mistaken, in a vape market flooded with products from Malaysia and the USA – a country marked by hospitalizations and deaths of vapers who have used black-market products.
E-liquids with hydroalcoholic gel
During the Covid-19 pandemic, many companies in the medical equipment sector were called upon to supply emergency equipment. The Origine France Garantie label was a guarantee of confidence and responsiveness. The first three weeks were very tense at HMS-VILGO,” says Frédérick Jude. Despite two months’ worth of stock in advance, something was still missing: dining tables, wheeled serum stands, etc. To meet bed requirements, we had to work seven days a week.. “
A recognized and reliable label
Frédérick Jude, General Manager of VILGO, medical equipment manufacturer
Reactivity, but also adaptability: seeing the shortage coming, many manufacturers have converted their production facilities to make hydroalcoholic gel, and the OFG label has given credibility to their approach. ” We have also developed and obtained OFG certification for a hydroalcoholic gel dispenser with an inverted system, compatible with all containers,” explains Frédérick Jude of HMS-VILGO. At Lips France, 85% of e-liquid production has been replaced by hydroalcoholic gel since March 16. A product also awarded the OFG label two months later. Requests multiplied and the pace became very intense, leading to a 3 x 8 shift, recruitment and a high level of responsiveness,” recounts Renaud Boisseau. We supplied hydroalcoholic gel to 302 pharmacies, 21 nursing homes, two hospitals, ten town halls and three ministries, not to mention thousands of private individuals all over France! “
The label requires compliance with specific criteria
Renaud Boisseau, head of analytical chemistry at Lips France, a manufacturer of e-liquids for electronic cigarettes
Novacel resumed business safely on April 27, and the reassurance arguments put forward for the OFG label were put back on the table to request another sign of confidence: the Covid-19 verification of sanitary measures label. ” We obtained it on May 28, 2020, with compliance on 99% of the criteria,” announces Roberto D’Agostino. The company is the second in France and the first in the optical sector to have obtained it. ”
Origine France Garantie: an element of economic sovereignty
Will the OFG label be able to ride the wave of economic relocalization and become part of the pact for economic sovereignty outlined by the French President in his speech on June 14? Groups of entrepreneurs like Savoir Faire Ensemble are thinking along these lines. For Renaud Boisseau, ” the label reassures our customers, who know that our market offers something for everyone. Manufacturing in France to become a selection criterion “. For his part, Roberto D’Agostino stresses that it’s up to each individual to decide whether or not to take the risk of acquiring products from the other side of the planet: “It’s up to each individual to decide whether or not to take the risk of acquiring products from the other side of the planet. Consumers are less and less inclined to buy Chinese. They know that their choice can help the French economy take off again. “However, beware of good intentions that are not followed by action! As Frédérick Jude reminds us, ” without political will, it won’t work!
