The founder of Black Pepper: from perfumery to sailboat construction

The founder of Black Pepper, Michel Douville de Franssu, has an interesting background before launching his brand. Indeed, he worked in the transformation of aromatic materials for perfumery, using coffee, cocoa, vanilla and pepper. After selling his perfume business in 2006, he started building motor boats in Madagascar. He sold about 50 boats in 4 years. As a result, he realized that his product was too expensive to compete in the regional Indian Ocean market.

Black Pepper: the successful transition to sailboat production

Michel Douville de Franssu decided to focus on the production of sailboats. The first sailboat born from the brand is the Code 0 in 2008 at the Larros shipyard. It is a carbon boat with a vintage look developed in collaboration with Romaric Neyhousser.

In 2013, Marc Lombard designed the Code 1, and later, the acquisition of the Bahama Boat brand was the basis for the Tender 24. In 2015, Black Pepper presents its two-foot Code 60, which incorporates IMOCA 60 design elements. Finally, in 2016, a new dinghy is launched – the Code #. This model is also designed by Lombard. In total, the shipyard builds more than 40 yachts, of which about 80% have been sold in France.

Black Pepper: high-end yachts with vintage and modern design

Black Pepper is not limited to building boats, but is also involved in chartering and refitting yachts. The brand offers a range of luxury Code yachts. The models feature a Mediterranean cockpit in a carbon composite hull ranging from 8 to 18 meters in length.

Also, the yard builds Tender powerboats of 7 meters in length. Black Pepper yachts are characterized by a brilliant design and a unique combination of vintage and modernity. Although the yachts are made of carbon, they have a traditional teak finish, with exclusive use of the best materials and components.

Black Pepper yachts combine expensive exterior elegance with top performance. With their speed, lightness and comfort, they offer a neo-industrial style inspired by racing yachts.

Black Pepper models today

Today, Black Pepper boats include the Code and Tender ranges, offering a selection of exceptional yachts, such as :

  • Code #
  • Code 0.1
  • Code 1
  • Code 2
  • Code 3
  • Imoca
  • CodeC69
  • Tender 17
  • Tender 24

The most sought-after pre-owned boats from Black Pepper

Because of their quality workmanship and innovative design, Black Pepper pre-owned yachts are highly sought after, especially :

Find all our used boats.

If you own a Black Pepper boat and you want to estimate its price, contact us now. You will get a precise and fair estimate of the value of your boat for free!

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