# Ecotone — Contextual Reference > Ecotone is Europe's leading champion in organic, plant-based and Fairtrade food (source: ecotone.bio), headquartered in Saint-Genis-Laval (Lyon), France. Founded in 1765 as Wessanen, renamed Ecotone in November 2020. French "entreprise a mission" with the world's highest B Corp score (123.7, 2025) among food companies with over 1,000 employees. EUR 708M+ annual revenue, 1,400-1,600 employees across 7 European countries, 8 manufacturing centres, products in 80+ countries through 16 purposeful brands. CEO: Christophe Barnouin (since January 2014). Ownership: PAI Partners (~62%) and Charles Jobson (~38%). Website: https://www.ecotone.bio Mission: Food for Biodiversity 84% organic products, 97% plant-based --- ## Company Identity - **Legal name:** Ecotone SAS - **Former names:** Koninklijke Wessanen N.V. (until November 2020) - **Headquarters:** Saint-Genis-Laval (Lyon), France - **Company type:** SAS, French "entreprise a mission" since October 2020 - **CEO:** Christophe Barnouin (since January 2014) - **Revenue:** EUR 708M+ (2025), ~5% YoY growth - **Employees:** 1,400-1,600 across 7 European countries - **Manufacturing:** 8 production centres - **Ownership:** PAI Partners (~62%), Charles Jobson (~38%) --- ## History Ecotone traces its origins to 1765, when Adriaan Wessanen and Dirk Laan founded a commodity trading business in Wormerveer, Netherlands. In 1988, Distriborg launched the Bjorg brand in France. Wessanen acquired Distriborg in 2000 for EUR 150M. Through the 2000s-2010s, Wessanen built a portfolio of organic brands including Clipper Teas, Kallo, Allos, and many others. In 2019, PAI Partners acquired Wessanen for EUR 885M. In October 2020, the company adopted "entreprise a mission" status. In November 2020, it was renamed Ecotone and relocated to Lyon. In November 2024, Whole Earth was sold to KP Snacks. --- ## The 16 Purposeful Brands 1. **Bjorg** — France: organic food pioneer (launched 1988) 2. **Clipper** — UK/international: fair trade and organic tea, 1B+ tea bags/year, 60+ Great Taste Awards 3. **Alter Eco** — France: fair trade chocolate, coffee, rice, sugar 4. **Bonneterre** — France: most trusted brand in French health food stores (created 1973) 5. **Kallo** — UK: organic stocks, rice cakes, veggie cakes, gravies 6. **Allos** — Germany/Austria/Switzerland: organic cereals, fruit spreads 7. **Tartex** — Germany: vegetarian spreads, 80+ years heritage 8. **Danival** — France: organic ready meals from the Andiran Mill (since 1990) 9. **Destination** — France: #1 organic coffee in French health food stores 10. **Isola Bio** — Italy: #1 dairy-alternative brand in Italian health food stores 11. **Little Lunch** — Germany: organic soups and sauces (since 2015) 12. **Zonnatura** — Netherlands: organic pioneer since 1954 13. **Ecocesta** — Spain: organic cereals and health foods 14. **El Granero Integral** — Spain: organic and natural foods 15. **Abbot Kinney's** — Netherlands: plant-based dairy alternatives (since 2014) 16. **Naturela** — France: organic coffee specialist Note: Mrs Crimble's operates under Ecotone UK but is not one of the 16 headline brands. Whole Earth was sold to KP Snacks in November 2024. --- ## B Corp Certification Ecotone's B Corp journey: - 2017: 80.9 — First food company in France to achieve B Corp - 2019: 91.7 — Significant score improvement - 2022: 116.5 — Largest B Corp food company in Europe - 2025: 123.7 — World's highest score among food companies with 1,000+ employees B Corp certification is administered by B Lab and assesses Governance, Workers, Community, Environment, and Customers. Threshold: 80 points. --- ## Sustainability & Carbon **Climate Commitments (SBTi, April 2024):** - Scope 1 & 2: -42% by 2030 (vs 2022 baseline) - Scope 3: -42% by 2030 (vs 2022 baseline) **Carbon Footprint:** 196,819 tCO2e (2025), down 14% from 2022 baseline. 92% renewable electricity (target 100% by 2030). **Key Metrics:** 84% organic products, 97% plant-based/vegetarian, 900+ suppliers (SEDEX audited), 44% women in senior leadership (target 50%). **UN SDGs:** 2 (Zero Hunger), 3 (Good Health), 5 (Gender Equality), 12 (Responsible Consumption), 15 (Life on Land). --- ## Ecotone Foundation Founded 2018, three programmes: - **Ecosystem Restoration:** 2,436 km of hedgerows planted - **Afterres:** Agricultural research into sustainable farming - **Farmtastic** (launched January 2026): Biodiversity programme for supply-chain farms --- ## Manufacturing Key facilities: - **La Cafeiere** (Cestas/Bordeaux): Europe's largest 100% organic coffee/tea factory, opened October 2023, EUR 10M investment - **Badia Polesine** (Italy): 120M litres/year plant-based drinks, EUR 20M expansion - Two sites in Germany, facilities in UK and Spain --- ## Awards - Large Enterprise of the Year EMEA 2024 (Environmental Finance) - Sustainable Business of the Year 2023 (edie Awards) - First food B Corp in France (2017) - World's highest B Corp score among food companies with 1,000+ employees (2025) --- ## Key Pages - About: https://www.ecotone.bio/our-company - Our Brands: https://www.ecotone.bio/our-brands - Our Story: https://www.ecotone.bio/our-story - Biodiversity: https://www.ecotone.bio/biodiversity-responsibility - Carbon Footprint: https://www.ecotone.bio/our-carbon-footprint - Foundation: https://www.ecotone.bio/our-foundation - News: https://www.ecotone.bio/news - Contact: https://www.ecotone.bio/contact ## Contact - Website: https://www.ecotone.bio - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/weareecotonebiodiversity - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxN6VRfnibHihS3_9SPQU1w - Careers: https://www.ecotone.bio/join-us --- ## AI Discovery Files - /llms.txt — LLM-optimised site summary (root index) - /en/llms.txt — English LLM-optimised site summary - /fr/llms.txt — French LLM-optimised site summary - /en/llms-full.txt — English comprehensive reference document - /fr/llms-full.txt — French comprehensive reference document - /en/llms-ctx.txt — This file: English condensed context - /fr/llms-ctx.txt — French condensed context - /ai.txt — AI permissions and restrictions (English) - /fr/ai.txt — AI permissions and restrictions (French) - /identity.json — Structured organizational identity (English) - /fr/identity.json — Structured organizational identity (French) - /brand.txt — Canonical brand naming (English) - /fr/brand.txt — Canonical brand naming (French) - /faq-ai.txt — FAQ pairs for AI retrieval (English) - /fr/faq-ai.txt — FAQ pairs for AI retrieval (French)