Who we are

A career, vision,
values

Maxime Balanche

« For me, the Albora adventure is the culmination of a conviction and the beginning of a new adventure. »

Born in Franche-Comté and from an union of two families of dairy farmers/producers, I grew up dividing my time between a farm and a cheese factory.

Also passionate about mechanics, I completed a Brevet de Technicien Supérieur and then an Engineering School in Mechanical Engineering course, half of the time I worked in a company that designs and manufactures cheese factories and dairies. For more than 12 years, I have been working in this same sector, climbing the ladder, from assistant draftsman to technical manager.

The birth of an idea

Back to basics, short circuits, local and artisanal consumption – these are just some of the issues and messages that have been resonating in the ideologies of the people of France and the rest of the world in recent years.

These are powerful subjects, which demonstrate the extent to which our consumption patterns are changing. Supermarkets are even becoming players in the “local and artisanal” arena, communicating extensively on their local alliances with small-scale producers.

Despite this movement, we remain in a liberal society in which producers are unable to earn a viable income.

These producers are unable to express their difficulties, have little leverage to make themselves heard, and are often dependent on a single buyer, generating one-way negotiations…

To change the situation, they have two options :

The choice of diversification

to avoid dependence on a single buyer

Mastery of dairy processing

like some PDO, where the cheese factory belongs to the producers. Today, these producers earn more than €700 per 1,000 litres of milk… they are the best paid in the whole of France.

« Why not combine these two solutions, diversify and process a part of the milk produced ! »

A team and partners

For this adventure, the team is made up of committed men and women, close friends, but also partners with whom we have created strong links. They all contribute their energy, knowledge and experience to ALBORA:

nidépices

for marketing, design, communication and sales strategy

KPMG Pontarlier

for structuring financing, accounting and financial management of the company

Bpifrance

for financing the company

BPS Avocat d’Affaires

for the structure, optimisation and protection of the company

Le Crédit Mutuel

for financing the company