Our history

The American adventure

Grandson of winegrowers and granddaughter of farmers, Carine and Roland escape the call of the Earth and are passionate about entrepreneurship. Coming from a sporting background, they created beach clubs for children in the Landes in the 1980s, then decided to try the American adventure and left for Los Angeles from 1985 to 1998 where they created three prosperous companies focused on Tourism.

Acquisition of the domain

They sold everything, house and companies and fell in love at first sight with a wine estate of around thirty hectares in Provence in Cadenet, a small village in the Luberon.
They worked for a few months to reorganize the estate and planted several thousand olive trees.

Entrepreneurial transition

In order to give the trees time to grow, they drew on their American experience and created Auto Escape in July 1999, a company whose activity is based on a concept that is still new in France: car rental broker.
The company, which prioritizes quality of service above all else, is growing rapidly and 50 employees are joining the structure in Pertuis, in the Luberon. Having become number 1 in France, it attracted investors and Roland and Carine COUPAT decided to sell their company when it entered the stock market. It will then be bought by Expedia, the world number 1 in online tourism.

Training for the profession of oleologist

In the meantime, the trees grew, other olive trees were planted and today, the farm has 4,000 trees spread over 15 hectares.

Carine and Roland have patiently trained themselves in all olive growing practices and techniques in France and Italy.
Roland completed his training by obtaining a diploma in oleologist in 2010 from the University of Pharmacy of Montpellier. He is a certified taster, and is regularly a member of the jury in prestigious competitions such as the Concours Général Agricole de Paris.

First medal in the general agricultural competition

Bastide du Laval olive oils win their first medal at the Concours Général Agricole de Paris

Start of recognition

The starred chefs Michel & César Troigros become the godfathers of the mill.

Opening of the mill

The logical evolution led quite naturally to the creation of an olive oil mill, the heart of the olive growing activity of a village or region. The Bastide du Laval oil mill opened its doors to the public and olive suppliers on October 27, 2014.
This continuous chain mill is equipped with the latest modern olive technologies. Its aim is to promote the quality of the oils and olive-growing regions of Vaucluse, and the Luberon in particular.
The extraction technique is done cold. The machine is new and of modern design straight from Tuscany. It is a two-phase mill, that is to say without the addition of water during crushing. This allows the oil to retain most of the aromas contained in the olive.

ADOPTION BY THE ELYSÉE

Bastide du Laval olive oils are adopted by the kitchens of the Elysée.

Family transmission

In 2020, Roland and Carine handed over the reins of the mill to their son Léo, who holds a Master's degree in Management from SKEMA Business School, an oleologist diploma and official taster status from the International Olive Council.

Increase in production capacity

The mill is expanding and a second production line is added to the existing one to increase production capacity.

Agrandissement et valorisation des déchets oléicoles

Nous nous sommes agrandis pour bénéficier d'une capacité de stockage et de production plus importante. Nous avons également investi dans une nouvelle installation afin de recycler et valoriser tous nos déchets oléicoles séparément (deuxième extraction de l'huile, noyaux concassés, pulpe d'olive).