Team Côte d'Azur - Côte d'Azur Economic Newsletter

The jury selected three SMEs and a research unit as the INPI2009 award winners in the PACA (Provence-Alpes- Côte-d’Azur) region thanks to their ability to use industrial property as a growth driver to develop and enhance their innovation. The two local Côte d’Azur prize winners were fairtrade coffee company Malongo and the Laboratoire de Microbiologie Orale, whilst the two other PACA SMEs to win top honors were Marseille-based Mailinblack and SP3H, located in Aix en Provence. Jean Pierre Blanc, Managing Director at Malongo, which specializes in upmarket coffees, has become a major figure in the fairtrade coffee sector. He was singled out for his extremely innovative strategy, which has enabled the company to increase its annual sales by 21% since 2005 despite a highly competitive sector.
And Prof. Isabelle Madinier, whose work at the Laboratoire de microbiologie orale focuses on how to improve people’s oral health and nutrition, was honored for co-launching start-up Solidages with her colleague Cyril Sablayrolles.
The INPI de l'Innovation PACA prize giving ceremony took place on 23 October at the Parc Phénix in Nice in the presence of the French Minister in charge of Industry and Mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, Benoit Battistelli, Managing Director of INPI (Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle) and Martine Clémente, INPI PACA regional delegate. “I would like to congratulate INPI for this initiative, which is in line with the government’s action to support innovation to increase French companies’ competitiveness,” noted Estrosi. “Thanks to their capacity for innovation, these companies have learnt how to use innovation to their advantage by creating economic growth and new jobs in our region.” The 2009 winners of the Trophées de l'Innovation illustrate the rich pool of creative and innovative talent that exists in the PACA region, which ranks third in terms of the number patents lodged. This is largely due to the large number of leading innovation players in the IT, microelectronics and chemistry-pharmaceutical sectors as well as the stimulation provided by the 9 world class competitive clusters established locally.
The winners of the regional Trophées INPI de l'Innovation will compete for the national trophies, which will be announced in Paris in January 2010.