Food Chain - Issue 212 - June 2026 | Page 69

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ PROVA

Now a global player in the extracts and flavors industry, PROVA is a story of entrepreneurship, calculated risk, and bold ambition. Founded in France in 1946 by Jacqueline and Marcel Acat and their partner, Hugo Oller, the business initially focused on vanilla extraction. For the next 17 years, it maintained a steady position in the market, though it wasn’ t until 1963 that today’ s PROVA started to take shape. That year saw the arrival of Daniel Acat, Jacqueline and Marcel Acat’ s son, at the company. Daniel brought a new emphasis on innovation and a drive to invest and develop PROVA, both locally in France and further afield.

In 1993, Muriel Acat‐Vergnet, Daniel’ s daughter, joined PROVA. Continuing in her father’ s entrepreneurial footsteps, she introduced more modernization, built further structure, strengthened governance, and implemented corporate culture, while helping PROVA grow in its specialties. In 2008 Muriel began leading the company, and under her leadership, PROVA obtained Women’ s Business Enterprise( WBE) certification in 2022.
For the next 50 years, Daniel then his daughter, Muriel, built on PROVA’ s expertise in vanilla while gradually expanding its aromatic portfolio. Now 80 years after its founding, the company serves clients across a wide range of market segments, including bakery and cereals, nutrition, dairy products, confectionery, chocolate, ice cream, and beverages. It develops flavor solutions for food manufacturers as well as foodservice professionals, including chefs, artisanal producers, and restaurant operators.
Muriel Acat‐Vergnet describes the foundation of this longevity and expansion with one word – expertise.“ Our business model was founded on the deliberate
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