In the Béziers region, a family has been growing vines since the 16th century… and hemp since last year. Report and interview at Viranel, where these enthusiasts cultivate products of happiness in all simplicity.
Where did the idea of diversifying come from?
Arnaud: We’d been thinking about it for some time. I had an accident, my sister-in-law Carine has an auto-immune disease and my wife Léa’s mom had cancer, so we tried to relieve her with CBD. We were looking for solutions. In 2021, we had a major late frost across the whole vineyard, which wiped out 80% of the upcoming harvest. We already had in mind the idea of growing hemp, and when I talked to my brother Nicolas about it, he agreed. Léa and Carine took the subject more seriously and we launched production.
Léa : It was done rather hastily.
When did you start your CBD adventure?
Arnaud: We started production last year, in April/May. For the French Touch CBD and Les Artisanes de Marie-Jeanne brands, it was last December.
When you talk about CBD here, you must have had some reaction…
Léa: Initially, we sold hemp olive oil, a finished product that could be consumed anywhere. The first reaction from a very “terroir” person in the hinterland was “ah no thank you, I don’t want that kind of stuff”, whereas we were just there to let people taste an olive oil, so there was nothing to worry about. No, we’re groping our way between rejecting a fad and demonizing cannabis.
Carine. We spend a lot of time with people to explain things to them. At markets, we manage to sell more products because we have the time to engage in discussion. But in stores, where there’s no sales pitch, it’s more complicated. We always get questions like: “Can I drive after drinking this herbal tea?
And do the explanations bear fruit or is there no point?
Lea: We get very good feedback. People are looking for well-being, but we have to educate them about the plant.
Arnaud: For example, we prefer to talk about hemp and the plants that go with it for herbal teas, rather than CBD, because the term can still be confusing for some people.
Carine: Another of our strengths is that the boys are winegrowers, while Léa and I come from the medical world: she’s a dietician and I’m a nurse. We’re clearly in the wellness business, but we also bring our expertise to consumers. We all have our own areas of expertise, the boys as much as us. For the herbal teas, Léa has composed blends based on the synergy between plants.
With its centuries-old winery and medical expertise, you’re a long way from the stoner cliché.
Arnaud: We quickly got out of that, yes.
Carine: It’s also for our image as “wellness products”.
Arnaud: We still have a few rare cases. Last week, a relative to whom I’d recommended oils said “no thanks, I’m not into getting high”. Two days later, he came back and asked me for an oil. But we’re not talking about flowers here. It’s a market we haven’t really attacked because it’s purely commercial, so it makes less sense.
How are you developing your business?
Arnaud: We went for something simple, without promotion, but based on word-of-mouth. We didn’t do any advertising, just small-scale networking and short viral campaigns: someone who has a positive opinion will share it with their friends and family.
But we’re still on social networks, which are a must these days. We could go a lot faster with a big com’, but the aim isn’t to explode and end up with dozens of employees…
Why not?
Arnaud: Because it’s not manageable. We want to keep our know-how and stay in this family bubble.
Léa: We’re involved in all kinds of jobs: packaging, production, design, sales… It’s very versatile.
What about the distribution of tasks?
Arnaud: My brother and I manage the production side and the girls the distribution. We were well surrounded at the start, with two friends: Jimmy and Loïc for the farming side.
Not too hard to work with your family?
Léa: No, on the contrary, we get on well together and we complement each other’s tasks, both at work and at home. For Nicolas and Arnaud, it’s a considerable workload. Between that and the vineyard, they’re always on deck.
Carine: We started out in a black year for grape production, so they were more available at the beginning, but that’s not a given.
At first, Léa and I were very enthusiastic, but we didn’t really know what to expect. We found ourselves working in the dark with headlamps, doing manicures for several weeks! We learned everything at once. Manicure, what a terpene is, trichomes… And not to mention the kids, I’ve got a teenager at home, and when he found out what we were doing, he was like “So Mom, you’re doing drugs? And then you have to explain everything… The other 6-year-old wanted to bring some back to school to talk about his parents’ business.
Arnaud: Even for the old-timers, at first they were scared because they equated it with drugs, but as time went by they understood and opened up.
Are you an organic producer?
Arnaud: We’re working on a plot of land that’s been lying fallow for over 10 years, and we’re producing without using any plant protection products, but we were too hasty in launching the project. As for the organic label, we’ll be looking into that in the coming months. As far as the vineyard is concerned, we’ve chosen to have as many vines as garrigue. So we have a naturally rich ecosystem, with lots of insects, birds, snakes and all the local fauna. This limits the impact of certain pests, which remain confined to the plot in question. There’s a natural balance. On hemp production, we’ve had caterpillars but nothing more. Apart from the fleet and an organic amendment, there’s no need to add anything.
Have you drawn up any development strategies?
Arnaud: Yes, of course, but that was before the market collapsed. At first, we thought we’d do flowers, but we realized that there were more possibilities with by-products such as herbal teas, oils, etc…
Carine: To avoid confusion among our consumers, we decided to split the brand in two. Flowers are French Touch CBD and all by-products are Les Artisanes de Marie-Jeanne.
