Bayard Presse

What Bayard Presse does

Bayard Presse, operating through its youth publishing division Bayard Jeunesse, is a French children's media and publishing company founded in 1966 and headquartered in Malakoff, France, as a Société Anonyme subsidiary of the diversified Bayard publishing group. The company publishes 21 magazine titles covering children from birth through age 20, including flagship titles Pomme d'Api (1966), Okapi (1971), J'aime lire (1977), Astrapi (1978), Phosphore (1981), and Youpi Doc (1988), alongside digital platforms (BayaM app for ages 3-10, Maternelle Montessori educational app for ages 3-7), audio products (the MERLIN audio speaker co-developed with Radio France and over 10 podcasts), subscription activity boxes (Lab'Oh for sciences, Oui! T'as tout compris for maths, 1,2,3 POPI for early childhood), books, board games, plush toys, and merchandise built around iconic characters such as Petit Ours Brun, Mortelle Adèle, Ariol, and SamSam.

The underlying technology stack includes multi-platform digital content infrastructure (iOS, Android, web), audio streaming systems distributing content via Spotify, Deezer, Apple Podcasts, and proprietary BayaM distribution, identity/authentication management (Keycloak) for the bayard-jeunesse.com storefront, and podcast co-production systems integrated with Radio France and the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. Editorial credibility is reinforced by a content testing program that engages over 4,500 children annually and a network of 2,200+ authors and illustrators worldwide.

Revenue is generated primarily through direct-to-consumer magazine subscriptions (€4.50-€9.10/month per title), digital platform subscriptions (BayaM at €3/month or €30/year for subscribers), recurring activity box subscriptions (€13.50-€19/month), one-time book and merchandise purchases (8 million books sold annually), and hardware unit sales (MERLIN speaker). Family discounts of €5 on second and subsequent subscriptions and a referral program support retention. Distribution spans the company's own e-commerce storefront, Apple/Google app stores, school and library sales channels (approximately 150,000 copies per issue reaching an estimated 2.55 million shared-reading readers), and international publishing partnerships in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, the USA, Canada, China, and francophone Africa.

Name

Bayard Presse

Legal name

BAYARD

Website

https://bayard-jeunesse.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1966

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Bayard Presse operates Bayard Jeunesse, France's leading children's publishing division, publishing 21 magazines and operating digital platforms, podcasts, activity boxes, books, and branded merchandise for children aged 0-20, reaching 1 in 2 French children monthly through direct-to-consumer subscriptions across 7+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Book Publishers (51313), Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (459120), Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Games, Toys & Children's Vehicles (No Dolls & Bicycles) (3944)

akta.pro primary industry

Children’s Subscription & Book Club Publishing (MPAJAFAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Children’s Digital & Interactive Publishing (E-books, Apps, Enhanced Content) (MPAJAFAJ), Children’s & All-Ages Comics Publishing (MPAJAGAI), Children’s Licensed & Media Tie-In Publishing (MPAJAFAK), Children’s Activity & Practice Books (Workbooks, Puzzles, Handwriting) (EDAGAIAE), Religious Children’s Publishing (Faith-Based Kids & YA) (MPAJAHAJ)

Keywords

• Children's publishing
• Youth magazines
• Educational content
• Kids digital platform
• Subscription publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Montrouge

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Magazine Subscriptions: Recurring subscription revenue from 21 magazine titles covering children from birth to age 20. Subscriptions available in monthly or annual payment options with family discounts for multiple subscriptions.
2. Book and Merchandise Sales: One-time purchases of books, board books, activity books, plush toys, figurines, and stationery featuring beloved characters like Petit Ours Brun, Mortelle Adèle, and Ariol.
3. Activity Boxes: Subscription boxes for learning activities including 1,2,3 POPI (early childhood), Lab'Oh (science experiments), and Oui! T'as tout compris (math activities).
4. Digital Platform Subscriptions: Monthly or annual subscriptions to BayaM platform and Maternelle Montessori app. Subscribers receive preferential rates.
5. Audio Content: Podcast content, audio stories, and audio books distributed via BayaM platform and major podcast platforms including Spotify, Deezer, and Apple Podcasts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Bayard Jeunesse is a children's publishing house that produces and distributes 21 magazines for children and adolescents aged 0-20 years, along with digital platforms (BayaM, Maternelle Montessori app), audio content and podcasts, subscription activity boxes, books, comics, toys, and merchandise featuring proprietary characters. The company sells directly to families via subscriptions and e-commerce, and reaches roughly half of all children in France through its portfolio.

Product overview

Bayard Jeunesse operates a diversified portfolio of 21 magazines for children and adolescents aged 1-18 years, organized by age groups: 0-5 years (bébé), 6-10 years (enfant), and 11-20 years (adolescent). The magazine portfolio includes flagship titles like Pomme d'Api (1966), Popi, J'aime lire (France's most-read youth magazine with 2.9M monthly readers), Okapi (1971), Astrapi (1978), and Phosphore (1981). Digital products include the BayaM platform (3-10 years) for safe digital discovery, and the Maternelle Montessori educational app (3-7 years). Audio offerings encompass over 10 podcasts including La grande histoire (10M+ monthly listens), Salut l'info! (co-produced with Radio France/franceinfo), and Curieux de sciences (co-produced with Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle). Activity subscription boxes include Lab'Oh (sciences), Oui! T'as tout compris (maths), and 1,2,3 POPI. English-language products include I Love English series and UK-made StoryBox/AdventureBox/DiscoveryBox subscription boxes. The company also produces board games, books, comics (including Mortelle Adèle with 1.5M copies sold), plush toys, and collector items featuring iconic characters like Petit Ours Brun, SamSam, Ariol, and Anatole Latuille. The business serves over 7 million young readers monthly, with 1 in 2 French children reading a Bayard Jeunesse magazine.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pomme d'Api: Magazine for children 3-7 years old, 'Le magazine qui voit grand pour les petits'
• Popi
• J'aime lire
• Astrapi
• Okapi
• Phosphore
• Youpi Doc
• Images Doc
• BayaM
• Maternelle Montessori
• Babar
• Les Belles Histoires
• Je bouquine
• I Love English
• 1jour1actu

Products and services

• Pomme d'Api Magazine Magazine for children aged 3-7 years, described as 'the magazine that sees big for the little ones,' covering the maternelle years.
• Popi Magazine Magazine for babies aged 1-3 years, designed to help toddlers associate images with words.
• J'aime lire Magazine Best-selling magazine for children aged 7-10 years with 2.9 million monthly readers (Ipsos Junior Connect 2024), the most-read youth magazine in France.
• Okapi Magazine Magazine for middle school students aged 10-15 years, published twice monthly to help teens feel good in middle school.
• Astrapi Magazine Bi-monthly magazine for children aged 7-11 years with games, activities, jokes, and creative challenges.
• Phosphore Magazine Weekly digital magazine for high school students aged 13-19 years covering news and helping teens understand the world.
• Youpi Doc Magazine Science, nature and history magazine for children aged 5-8 years introducing them to science and discovery.
• Images Doc Magazine Discovery magazine for children aged 8-12 years covering science, history, and nature with illustrated documentaries.
• Babar Magazine Magazine featuring Babar the elephant for children aged 2-5 years.
• J'aime lire Max Magazine Magazine for children aged 9-13 years to stimulate the desire to read, with extended content and activities.
• Je bouquine Magazine Magazine for teenagers aged 12-15 years featuring captivating stories and age-appropriate novels.
• So Foot Club Magazine Football magazine for teenagers aged 10-15 years featuring exclusive interviews, match flashbacks, and football culture.
• BayaM Digital Platform Digital platform for children aged 3-10 years featuring games, animated films, activities, podcasts, and content from Bayard's hero characters; available as mobile app and web platform with subscriber pricing at €3/month or €30/year.
• Maternelle Montessori App Educational application for children aged 3-7 years to learn to read, write, count and code while having fun, based on Montessori pedagogy.
• MERLIN Audio Speaker Audio speaker designed for children by Bayard Jeunesse and Radio France, featuring over 1,000 included audio contents including stories and podcasts.
• Box 1,2,3 POPI Activity box subscription for toddlers featuring cuddly moments with themed activities like bath time, bedtime, and mealtime.
• Box Lab'Oh Science activity box for children aged 6-10 years with experiments and hands-on activities, priced at €19/month.
• Box Oui! T'as tout compris Maths activity box for children aged 6-10 years featuring geometry, fractions, and multiplication activities, priced at €13.50/month.
• StoryBox English magazine box for young English readers featuring UK-made magazines for children to practice reading in English.
• AdventureBox English magazine box for children aged 6-10 years featuring UK-made adventure and discovery content in English.
• DiscoveryBox English magazine box for children aged 9-13 years featuring UK-made documentaries and discovery content in English.
• 1jour1actu Magazine Current events magazine for children aged 8-12 years explaining world events in an age-appropriate manner.
• I Love English 5-8 ans Magazine English learning magazine for children aged 5-8 years delivered through an app and quarterly magazines.
• I Love English for Kids Magazine English learning magazine for children aged 8-11 years (from CE2) featuring articles, reportages and interactive exercises.
• Mortelle Adèle Character/Property Popular character created by Mr Tan and illustrated by Diane Le Feyer, with 1.5 million copies sold in bookstores. Includes comic books, novels, stationery, collector items, and dedicated magazine.
• Petit Ours Brun Character/Property Iconic character created in 1975 featuring plush toys, figurines, puzzles, books, and board games.
• La grande histoire Podcast Podcast for children aged 3-7 years featuring the monthly story from Pomme d'Api magazine, read by real parents, with over 10 million listens per month.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2.9 million monthly readers for J'aime Lire magazine (Ipsos Junior Connect 2024)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Radio FrancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partnership with Radio France for the 'Salut l'info!' podcast, explaining current events to children aged 7-11. The podcast combines journalism from Astrapi magazine with Radio France's audio expertise.
• FranceinfocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Franceinfo for the 'Salut l'info!' podcast, bringing current events news to children in an age-appropriate format.
• Muséum national d'Histoire naturellemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production of 'Curieux de Sciences' podcast with the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. Scientists from the museum answer children's science questions in 10-episode seasons.
• Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production of 'Ariol et les dragons de bibliothèque' podcast, taking children on a tour of the BnF's Richelieu site to discover hidden treasures in the national library's collections.
• CoexisterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth interfaith association Coexister collaborates on the 'Oh My God!' podcast from Phosphore magazine, providing diverse perspectives on religious and spiritual questions for teenagers.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Milan Presse: Milan Presse is a French children's magazine publisher (Tchoupi, Pat'Patrouille, Wakou, Pomme d'Api-style titles) and the most direct French-market competitor to Bayard Jeunesse. Both target the same 0-12 age cohort via magazine subscriptions and have parallel age-tiered title portfolios.
• Unique Heritage Media (Fleurus Presse): Unique Heritage Media publishes Fleurus, Crépuscule, and other French children's and family magazines, directly competing for parent and child subscriber dollars. Similar product mix of age-segmented magazines and complementary digital activities in France.
• PlayBac Presse: PlayBac publishes Le Petit Quotidien, Mon Quotidien, and L'ACTU news magazines for children and teens — a direct subscription-based competitor particularly in the 8-15 news/education segment where Bayard runs 1jour1actu and Okapi.

Broad incumbents

• Gallimard Jeunesse: Gallimard Jeunesse is one of France's largest children's book publishers and operates the Bayard Jeunesse-aligned BayaM platform jointly with Bayard. Comparable in scale and target demographic, though book-focused rather than magazine-driven.
• Hachette Livre (Hachette Jeunesse): Hachette Jeunesse is the children's division of France's largest publisher, offering a broad portfolio of children's books, learning materials, and licensed character franchises (including Le Petit Nicolas). A broad incumbent competitor across books, education, and licensing.
• Éditions Nathan: Nathan (owned by Hachette Livre) is a major French educational and children's publisher with strong school-channel presence. Comparable to Bayard Jeunesse in its broad age coverage and educational focus, particularly through school and library distribution.
• Disney Publishing Worldwide: Disney Publishing Worldwide is a global children's book and magazine publisher leveraging iconic character IP (Disney, Marvel, Star Wars). Comparable to Bayard Jeunesse in monetizing character IP across multiple formats for children, though at much greater global scale.
• Scholastic: Scholastic is a major US-based children's publisher and educator with clubs, magazines, and books reaching millions of children. Comparable to Bayard Jeunesse in subscription-driven direct-to-parent/teacher distribution and broad age coverage of educational content.
• Larousse Jeunesse: Larousse Jeunesse publishes French-language children's reference, educational, and activity books. Comparable to Bayard Jeunesse's Youpi Doc, Images Doc, and activity box portfolio in targeting parents seeking trusted, educational content for children.

Regional players

• Egmont Publishing: Egmont Publishing is a Scandinavian-based children's publisher with strong magazine and book portfolios across Northern Europe. Comparable in business model (children's magazines, books, digital), with overlap in European geographies though not directly competing in France.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bayard_jeunesse
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/BayardJeunesse
• Facebookfacebook.com/bayardjeunesse
• Instagraminstagram.com/bayardjeunesse
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bayard-jeunesse

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bayard Presse