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SFist Interview: Alter Eco's Edouard Rollet
You wouldn’t guess it from the quiet way he talks, but Edouard Rollet is a man on a mission. He’s the co-founder of Alter Eco, a small San Francisco-based company that works with tiny organic farms and co-ops around the world, importing their food here, all certified as fair trade. We came across Alter Eco through a friend, and ended up talking to Edouard in the small conference room of their funky Dogpatch office, surrounded by samples of Alter Eco’s food – Ghanaian chocolate, rooibos tea, Ethiopian coffee, Bolivian quinoa, Thai dark red jasmine rice, and other wonderful things. The office smells really, really good.
Why did you start Alter Eco in San Francisco?
In short, it’s the green capital of the world. It’s where most of the not-for profits and third-party certification organizations are, and most of the triple-bottom-line community. Also the city looks like it’s beginning to move from being a tech city to being more of a green economy city, and we wanted to be part of that.
We’re working with 42 co-ops in over 35 countries, and it helps to be accessible to them via the port. We can watch the container ships come in from the office, and that’s always fun.
There was a personal aspect; [co-founder] Mathieu and I are both from Europe, and we feel comfortable here. Also, the food...is important, as well as being able to get outdoors.
More from Edouard after the jump!
How did you get into fair trade?
I’d worked for UNICEF, and Mattieu had worked in an orphanage in Cambodia, so it was something we both felt strongly about. We were both living in the US – LA and New York, and we knew the French founder of Alter Eco. We saw how well the public and buyers reacted at a food show in LA five years ago, and we decided to work to bring Alter Eco to the American market.
Why Dogpatch?
Well, we both live in Potrero Hill, so it’s an easy downhill commute to work. From work, not as much.
Favorite Bridge: Golden Gate
SF has the best…Outdoors
Favorite Restaurant: Manora’s Thai.
Transportation: Sadly, my Honda Element. It’s sad because it’s orange.
Favorite local shop: Farley’s Coffee in Potrero Hill
Favorite Bar: The Ramp, for an afternoon drink. Café Revolution for a night drink.
Best burrito: El Farolito
You’ve got $15 and two hours to kill in SF, what do you do?
Get a coffee and some good fair-trade chocolate and eat and drink with the view at the top of Dolores Park.
After writing this article, we had a chance to try two kinds of tea, coffee, and three types of chocolate from Alter Eco. The verdict? Yum. Want to try some yourself? Check here for where to get ‘em locally.
Photo of Alter Eco's Edouard, Erin, and Mathieu by the author