Our history

Originally a farm

In the early 1800s, the Desprez family was a family of millers, living in Nomain, a village in the north of France.
One of the family’s sons, Jean-Baptiste, was hired as a farm hand on a farm in Cappelle-en-Pévèle, where the Group’s headquarters are still located today.
In 1811, Jean-Baptiste became the owner of the farm. He decided to develop the business and to specialise in the production and trading of sugar beet seeds. And for a very specific reason: due to the blockade on the continent, ordered by Napoleon I, France was cut off from cane sugar supplies. The emperor encouraged farmers to produce sugar beet and ordered 32,000 hectares of beet to be planted in France. Jean-Baptiste capitalised on this opportunity and started producing sugar beet seeds to supply to farmers.
In 1830, he founded the company “Desprez frères”.

A time of innovation and plant breeding

In around 1850, Florimond, Jean-Baptiste’s son, took over from his father and expanded the company’s research and plant breeding activities.
Florimond devoted his life to the analysis of plants and seeds. He was one of the first to adopt French plant breeder Louis de Vilmorin’s concept of selective breeding.
In 1856, he collaborated with Louis Pasteur, and then with his successor Charles Violette, both deans of the Faculty of Science, Chemistry and Agriculture. It was at this time that they developed the first chemical method for analysing the sugar content of beet.
On the back of impressive results and the publication of a number of articles, Florimond’s reputation – justifiably – spread across France and Europe.
When Florimond died in 1900, his wife, Marie-Eugénie, took over the company and renamed it “Florimond Desprez Veuve et Fils”. This name would not be changed again.

Family-owned for nearly 200 years

From generation to generation, Florimond’s descendants have taken over and grown the family business.
Today, Bruno and François Desprez are the 5th generation to manage the Group. François’s sons, Florimond and Marin, have now also joined the company, representing the 6th generation.
Plant breeding and varietal innovation remain the company’s core activities.