Meet Gisele Oriot of The French Farm

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gisele Oriot.

The French Farm was founded in 1997 by Gisele, who is originally from the French region known for its food culture and wine. After settling down in Houston, she realized something was missing. She longed for the high-quality gourmet food products and kitchen accessories that she was surrounded by back home. She realized that if she wanted the jams, mustards, oils, and cutlery that she missed, she was going to have to bring them to Houston herself.

So, what started as a hobby, bringing in gourmet products for herself and friends, turned into a business and The French Farm was born.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
When I first started the business, my struggles centered on educating the consumer. I quickly realized that there was going to be a learning curve to products I was importing. Cooking shows were not as popular and people did not seek out gourmet products like they do today. Gisele quickly realized that if she could get customers to taste the products, they would immediately fall in love. A lot of Gisele’s first years were spent attending trade shows and small direct to consumer shows, encouraging the customer to try what she had to offer. Tasting was key in 1997, and is still a major part today. Once a customer tries one of our products, they’re usually a customer for life.

Now, The French Farm’s biggest hurdles center more on FDA compliance and warehouse spacing. During this year, 2017, we doubled our warehouse space to accommodate our growing business and to better serve our customers.

The French Farm – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The French Farm has searched all over Europe to bring you & your family the finest imported gourmet foods & kitchen accessories. Our products are carefully crafted by small, family-owned businesses and are made using traditional recipes and techniques, which are handed down from one generation to the next. These products contain the highest quality ingredients and materials, have exquisite taste, and are packaged beautifully.

Our goal is to bring the taste and feel of Europe into your home for everyone to enjoy. The French Farm hopes that every customer can fill their kitchen and pantry with beautiful products from countries like France, Spain, and Italy with brands like Edmond Fallot, L’Epicurien, Jean Dubost, Sal de Ibiza, & many more. We encourage our customers to search our collection and be transported to another place and time, where food was meant to be savored and enjoyed.

We are very intentional with the products that we import. The product must not only taste delectable, but it has to have incredible packaging. We want our products to make a “wow” statement and to be gift-able.

We also couple our one of a kind product with high-end customer service. We work tirelessly to make sure our customer’s needs are not only met, but exceeded when possible.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Outside of reaching sales goals, we strive to make sure our customers are satisfied. Success is when we can turn a potentially negative situation for a customer into a positive experience.

Contact Info:

• Address: 916 W 23rd St Houston, TX 77008
• Website: www.thefrenchfarm.com
• Phone: 713-660-0577
• Email: cs@frenchfarm.com

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