"The young Eugène Laponche, who had just arrived from Auvergne, settled in Draguignan in the Var. Having married the daughter of a beekeeper, he was also passionate about his father-in-law's profession. This is how he started, in 1925, in beekeeping with around fifty modern hives (frame hives). The Mediterranean climate helped, his apiary quickly prospered.
  
His son François learned the trade during his holidays. After obtaining an agricultural technician's certificate, he in turn became a beekeeper in 1973 and took over the family business. The 1980s were marked by a craze for natural and regional products including honey. But also by the arrival of a parasite, the varoa, which destroyed a large part of the French livestock. François Laponche refocused the company on the production of honey and the sale of colonies, and he practiced the great transhumance. With passion and courage, he continued the beautiful beekeeping tradition of his family.
  
White heather, Erica arborea, is a plant from the Esterel and the Massif des Maures, one of the most characteristic of the Var maquis. Its flowering time between February and April makes it one of the first honey harvests of the year. The taste of its honey as well as its color are reminiscent of caramel… a delicacy par excellence and the favorite honey of many customers.
  
Cooking: It is also the honey that is best suited for making gingerbread."