TASTE

What TASTE does

TASTE is an independent French recruitment consulting firm founded in 2004 and headquartered in Paris (2 Rue de Laborde, 75008), specializing in executive search and the placement of cadres experts — senior and middle-to-top management professionals — across 13 sector practices. The firm serves enterprise and mid-market clients through retained and contingent search mandates, RPO (recruitment process outsourcing), Assessment & Coaching (psychometrics, behavioral profiling, emotional intelligence), Predictive Recruitment, Management de Transition, Outplacement, and Conseil & Formation, with the latter non-recruitment activities representing approximately 25% of activity. Its commercial model rests on a community-driven sourcing infrastructure: 13 "skills clubs" (clubs de compétences) animate a network of 3,500+ professionals, augmented by the French Talent Studio (70 HR expert members) and an international practice managing 1,800+ multicultural talents, with 80%+ of mandates involving cross-border dimensions.

The firm serves 1,400 cumulative clients including Burger King, SNCF, Crédit Agricole, Ardian, and Serena, and runs a 5-week shortlist SLA on executive search mandates. Pricing is bespoke per mandate, typically structured as a percentage of placed candidate compensation. The technology stack is conventional professional-services infrastructure: marketing automation via Plezi, Microsoft Clarity for analytics, Google Analytics, LinkedIn Insight Tag, and AssessFirst for psychometrics; no proprietary AI platform, no public API, and no disclosed patents. AI capability is limited to bespoke behavioral and predictive modeling per engagement and advisory content on generative AI deployment in HR. The firm has been ranked by Les Echos and Statista among France's best executive search firms for nine consecutive years, holds B Corp certification (2024), and has been a signatory of the Charte de la Diversité since 2006. Ownership is held via ÉGRÉGORE SARL with four key associates (Olivier Boileau, Damien Créquer, Alexandre Groux, Rodéric Lochouarn) and no external investors or private equity backing.

Name

TASTE

Legal name

TASTE

Website

https://tasterh.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

TASTE is an independent Paris-based executive search and recruitment consulting firm founded in 2004, serving enterprise and mid-market clients across 13 sector practices with a community-driven model spanning 3,500+ managed professionals and complementary assessment, RPO, and coaching services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Search & Recruitment Consulting

NAICS

Other Management Consulting Services (541618), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer & Retail Leadership Search (BPACAAAG)

Keywords

• Executive search services
• Recruitment consulting
• Talent assessment
• Recruitment process outsourcing
• Executive recruitment

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Executive Search / La Chasse de Tête: Retained and contingent search mandates placing mid-to-senior management and executive-level professionals. Core revenue driver, targeting cadres experts with a 5-week shortlist SLA.
2. RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing): Outsourced recruitment strategy delivery, embedding Taste's methodology and consultants within the client's recruitment function.
3. Assessment & Coaching: Individual and team assessment services for executive evaluation, leadership development, and organizational dynamics analysis. Backs investment due diligence engagements with private equity clients.
4. Management de Transition: Interim executive placement services for urgent leadership needs.
5. Formation & Conseil: Training and advisory services on recruitment processes, employer branding, social recruiting, predictive hiring, and interview methodology — approximately 25% of non-recruitment activity.
6. Outplacement / Transition Professionnelle: Career transition and outplacement support for departing executives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

TASTE is an independent French recruitment consulting firm delivering executive search (chasse de tête), Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Assessment & Coaching, Predictive Recruitment, Management de Transition, Outplacement, and Conseil & Formation services. The firm specializes in placing mid-to-senior experts (cadres experts) for enterprises across 13 sector practices, sourcing candidates through 13 animated skills clubs and an international network of over 1,800 multicultural talents. Engagement is bespoke, with a 5-week shortlist SLA for executive search mandates and a community-based cooptation model that bypasses traditional job-board sourcing.

Product overview

TASTE is an independent recruitment consulting firm founded in 2004, positioned in the executive search and experienced professionals market. The firm operates a platform-based model centered on 13 specialized competency clubs (skills clubs) that animate professional communities totaling over 3,500 members. The core portfolio includes Executive Search (Chasse de tête), RPO, Assessment & Coaching, Predictive Recruitment, Transition Management, Outplacement, and Advisory & Training services. These services are unified under TASTE's human capital philosophy, which also encompasses the French Talent Studio sub-brand (a community ecosystem representing 25% of activity), the GoTank thought-leadership program, and the 'Les dirigeants passent à table' podcast series. The firm differentiates through community-driven cooptation strategies rather than traditional database searching.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• French Talent Studio: A community of RH experts committed to innovating in service of human capital, part of Taste's ecosystem.

Products and services

• Executive Search (Chasse de tête) Taste's flagship executive search service targeting strategic candidates for mid-to-top management positions. Delivers a shortlist of candidates within 5 weeks, using community-based cooptation strategies and the firm's 13 skills clubs to source high-value passive candidates unavailable through job boards.
• RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) Externalized recruitment strategy service where Taste's expertise operates within the client's organization to manage end-to-end hiring processes, embedding consultants inside client teams for sustained delivery.
• Assessment & Coaching Evaluation and talent development services combining scientific rigor in psychological analysis with deep understanding of human dynamics. Offers executive assessment, behavioral profiling, emotional intelligence evaluation, and team synergy/complementarity analysis for C-Level clients and investment funds.
• Recrutement Prédictif (Predictive Recruitment) Data-driven recruitment approach using behavioral profiling, psychometrics, and predictive models to identify candidates whose profiles match ideal team compositions and job performance criteria. Used to support cross-border and founding-team hires.
• Management de Transition Interim management services providing urgent skilled executive resources to organizations facing immediate competency gaps or transitional leadership periods.
• Outplacement (Transition Professionnelle) Career transition services for individuals seeking to dynamize their professional careers, including career coaching and job search support for departing executives.
• Conseil & Formation Advisory and training services including recruitment audits, candidate experience optimization, social recruiting strategies, sourcing techniques, and interview methodology training. Represents approximately 25% of non-recruitment activity.
• French Talent Studio Ecosystem of HR specialists and a community of 70+ experts committed to innovating in human capital development. Focuses on building new professions related to emerging technologies and the future of work, co-developing innovation around human capital and skills development.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5-week candidate shortlist SLA for executive search mandates
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• A Compétence EgalecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership since 2006. Taste is a bureau member of A Compétence Egale, the association of recruiters committed against discrimination and for diversity in employment. All Taste collaborators are trained in non-discriminatory recruitment practices.
• Viens Voir Mon TafminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation enabling students from priority urban areas to discover the professional world through immersive internships. Taste has hosted 3 interns through this partnership, supporting youth career exploration.
• Dauphine (Université Paris-Dauphine)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSince 2013, Taste hosts annual interview preparation sessions for final-year Master Marketing students at Dauphine, providing personalized career coaching and recruiter insights.
• Les Sauveteurs en Mer (SNSM)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTaste has supported SNSM in recruitment and structuring challenges for over 15 years, including key talent acquisitions to reinforce their development expertise. Also partnered on a sectoral remuneration study with France Générosités.
• EntourageminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2023, Taste supported the Entourage association (aiding people in precarious situations to find employment and social connection) by recruiting a technology expert and supporting internal reorganization to strengthen effectiveness.
• Wake up CaféminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2021, Taste co-developed with Wake up Café (supporting incarcerated individuals in their reintegration) a pilot program facilitating access to employment in under two months.
• Team for the PlanetminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTaste's CEO Damien Crequer participated in a Taste RSE event alongside Emma Scribe, Director of Major Investors at Team for the Planet — an initiative financing ecological innovations through crowd-investment with 120,000+ shareholders in 90 countries. Taste's French Talent Studio collaborates on human capital and future-of-work topics.
• Retail sector specialists (interviewed in white paper)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTaste's white paper on retail sector transformation features interviews with five specialist partners: Frédéric Josué (marketing strategy, ex-Havas), Alain Crozier (ex-CEO Microsoft France/China, Seven2 advisor), and three unnamed retail practitioners.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm serving C-suite and board-level mandates across industries. Operates at substantially larger scale than Taste across more geographies, but competes for the same French enterprise and PE mandates in mid-to-senior executive search.
• Korn Ferry: Large global organizational consulting firm combining executive search, talent assessment, and RPO. Overlaps directly with Taste's full-service portfolio (search, assessment, RPO) but at vastly larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• Michael Page International: Global recruitment firm covering mid-to-senior permanent and interim placements across sectors. Competes with Taste for mid-management French mandates, though at much larger volume and lower average search fees.
• Hays plc: UK-listed global staffing and recruitment group with deep European operations. Overlaps with Taste on permanent and interim executive placements, particularly for multinational clients seeking pan-European coverage.
• Robert Half International: Global specialty staffing and consulting firm with finance, technology, and administrative recruitment. Tangentially comparable to Taste on search and assessment services for professional roles in adjacent mid-market segments.

Direct peers

• Egon Zehnder: Privately held global executive search firm with deep assessment and leadership advisory practices. Closest comparable to Taste in boutique positioning, methodology-driven search, and emphasis on evaluation over pure placement; competes for European executive mandates.
• Spencer Stuart: Global executive search firm with strong board and CEO practice plus leadership advisory. Comparable to Taste in senior-executive search orientation, with greater geographic depth but similar boutique-style consulting culture.
• Stanton Chase: Mid-sized international executive search firm with multiple sector practices and partner-led engagement model. Closest direct peer to Taste in size, multi-sector practice structure, and European footprint.
• Norman Broadbent: UK-based executive search and interim management firm with sector-led practice model. Comparable to Taste in boutique positioning, mid-to-senior search focus, and emphasis on assessment and leadership advisory add-ons.

Regional players

• Approach People Recruitment: European recruitment firm headquartered in Dublin with offices across continental Europe. Overlaps with Taste on international mid-to-senior placements and multilingual talent sourcing across European markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubepodcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/lodyss%C3%A9e-des-m%C3%A9tiers-du-futur/id1587863753
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/taste-recruitment
• Xx.com/Tasterh
• Facebookfacebook.com/tasterh

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 TASTE