Pico – What we stand for
Pico Bio was founded in 1997 as a distribution organisation for organic food and has since regarded itself as a link between its mostly regional producers and consumers. It stands for eco-correct produce that comes directly from the field and stall into the kitchen, onto the plate and into the glass.
Organic, regional & more
Pico's product range has been added to continuously over the years and currently includes 4'500 eco-correct products, most of which are of organic quality. When selecting products, having trust in producers is more important than relying on certification. And Pico is able to gain and maintain this trust more easily by dealing with small manageable companies as opposed to anonymous large producers, which is why you won't find the greater portion of our products on the shelves of any wholesaler or discounter. Food from Pico Lebensmittel AG means environmentally-friendly production, genuine unadulterated flavour, competent advice, needs-based delivery in reusable containers, and fair prices for everybody involved.
Small is beautiful
Just like organic farming, trade in organic produce is also geared towards sustainability and away from one-sided profit maximisation. As former organic producers, the team at Pico is well aware of how difficult it is to produce visually perfect organic vegetables. Promoting small-scale structures on the farming landscape and supporting small cultivation quantities is one of our main concerns.
By purchasing from many small farms, Pico contributes to helping them remain competitive in the organic segment. And why?
Many areas of Switzerland can only be farmed ecologically by small structures. Small, rural structures preserve the village community, enhance the landscape and promote the biodiversity of all species, including humans and plants. Family processing businesses expand the food supply chain, preserve jobs and safeguard artisanal traditions.
By keeping competition high, small structures inhibit monopolistic tendencies. It is Pico's intention to prevent a few large corporations from dictating what goes on our table in the future.
The promotion and preservation of small-scale structures allows for a comprehensive biodiversity that applies not only to flower meadows, but to our entire society.
Trust through transparency
The preservation of social biodiversity goes hand in hand with a higher price paid to smaller producers and manufacturers for their products. Long-term partnerships, cultivation planning and guaranteed purchase are the cornerstones of Pico's supplier relationships. It declares on its delivery slips the source and certification of every product, right down to the producer, thus ensuring the greatest possible transparency with regard to origin, production, processing and transportation.
The fair price
Is it really a welcome fact that food expenditure in the household budget has fallen from 13% to 7% over the past 30 years, but health insurance premiums are continuously rising? Is there a correlation between the two?
In order to be able to include as many aspects of sustainability as possible, every product has a "fair price". This price must cover the costs of producers, processers and retailers. It is the only way that consumers can be sure that nobody or nothing along the production chain is being exploited, be it the environment, nature, natural resources or people.
More than just organic
The more Bud and Demeter labelled products bend towards the industrial standards of mass production – and they will increasingly do so over time – the more important the people behind them who do not bend become. These are the suppliers and consumers we want to work with.
A huge thanks to Beat Ledermann and Pico!
