Transcript of the interview:
Antoine: Today on our podcast Les Acteurs de l'Innovation, we have the pleasure of welcoming for the first time an entrepreneur who leads a family business and serves as its chairman. Christophe Paris, thank you so much for accepting the invitation. To start — can you walk us through your professional background?
Christophe: Thank you for having me, Antoine. I represent the 3rd generation of Valentine Fabrique SA. We're based in Romanel-sur-Morge and we manufacture fryers for the professional world — and for the entire world. My career started with an apprenticeship — I didn't come through the university route. It shaped me well, and then I went on to study further to become a good business leader, learn the ropes, and advance in my entrepreneurial journey.
Antoine: I've always appreciated your wisdom when we talk — you listen, and then you decide. I've always admired that. On the topic of innovation: what's your vision of it today?
Christophe: Innovation is a big word — one that can be very vague. For me, it's about testing things, moving forward, trying to find new formulas, new ideas. Some will reach the market one day, others perhaps not. But it's about investing money in research, in new things, taking a little risk, and trying to move in that direction.
Antoine: The word "risk" comes up a lot in this podcast when people try to define innovation. Now, at Valentine — when people think of fryers, they don't necessarily expect to find innovation. I'd love to hear the behind-the-scenes story.
Christophe: You're absolutely right. We operate in a very conservative field. Our clients are wary of electronics, of things that seem out of place in their world — you have to build their confidence. So we innovate, but not in a completely disruptive way. We introduce new things gradually, step by step. The hardest part of our work is earning trust — but with a name like Valentine, which is recognised in the industry, we can bring small innovations that make a real difference.
Antoine: So the brand reputation helps ease innovation through gently?
Christophe: Yes and no. You're right in a sense — but I can tell you that on the market, our clients are genuinely afraid. We introduce a small innovation and they think: "Oh no, this is going to be complicated in my kitchen, it's 40 degrees in there, will it hold up?" The real challenge is proving, beyond any doubt, that this innovation works, that it will serve them, and that it brings real added value. That's the difficulty we face.
Antoine: You've just launched the new Core range. What was the trigger for that?
Christophe: I represent the 3rd generation, and we used to change our product line roughly every 10 years. The time had come to do something. We sat down with my engineers and asked: where do we need to go? We decided we needed to integrate electronics and make our machines simpler to use. We like giving our projects names like KISS — Keep It Stupid and Simple — do things simply, and make them work. That's what customers love. We changed the entire design, improved many aspects of the previous generation, but above all, the real change is the electronics. We worked with FiveCo on that and we're very pleased so far. We're right at the beginning of the commercial launch — we have a trade show in a few days to present it — but our clients are already very receptive.
Antoine: How do you see the future of Valentine? Does a company like yours need to keep innovating?
Christophe: Innovation is one of our core values — it's the path we have to take. If a company like ours, 30 to 40 people, doesn't innovate in the coming years, we're heading straight into a wall. I'm convinced of that. We're up against large groups with many engineers and significant resources, who are also innovating. We have to do it at our own scale — but we have to do it. If we stand still and rest on our laurels, we won't be able to secure the company's future.
Antoine: You're a fervent defender of Swiss Made — and I know you share that conviction. Congratulations for keeping production in Romanel. Can you tell us about that challenge?
Christophe: Swiss Made is recognised worldwide — it stands for reliable, quality products. That's what we make, so it's very important to uphold. But today, manufacturing in Switzerland is becoming increasingly difficult: everything is expensive, administrative requirements keep growing, and our competitors are either in the eurozone, or Asian or American — arriving with products that are much more price-competitive. We bring quality added value, we have highly skilled people — but it's getting harder and harder. We're seeing that with the recent American tariffs. I hope things will settle down. Politics could also play a role in helping us continue to produce in Switzerland over the next 20 years. It would be a real catastrophe if Valentine had to leave the Lausanne region.
Antoine: Is there an innovation challenge you'd like to share?
Christophe: I'd like to talk about a future challenge. We have the potato coming out of the ground, we have the chip — and in between, we have what we call today a fryer. But will this stainless steel structure evolve over the coming years? That's what intrigues me. Within the next 5 to 10 years, I'd like to bring something different — not necessarily revolutionary. There's a lot of talk about air fryers. I'm not sure that's the right direction, but there will be innovations in this product — and I'm convinced they'll come from Valentine. Whether around energy, health, cleaning, or ecology — there are many themes to work on. That's what excites me.
Antoine: Would you ever consider diversifying into other professional kitchen equipment?
Christophe: No. We thought about it seriously, and we refocused entirely on the fryer. I'm convinced people will still be eating chips in 20 or 30 years — they'll be different, but they'll still eat chips. We're so well known for the fryer that we'll remain very strong in that space. We have the expertise, and we'll continue to innovate in that direction.
Antoine: How did you find the partnership with FiveCo?
Christophe: Excellent. We first met, discussed what we wanted to do and what was possible. Then our engineers were able to work together — and that's where the real development began. They got along very well. Today, we can say the result is very positive. We're very happy with the work accomplished by the FiveCo team, and of course we'll continue working with such a serious partner.
Antoine: To close — innovation in a single word, for you?
Christophe: Progress.
Antoine: I love it. Change, advancement, moving forward. Christophe, a huge thank you. It was a real pleasure interviewing you. We'll include Valentine's website link in the podcast. Thank you for everything — and long live Valentine!
Christophe: Thank you to the whole team — thank you very much.