BIPEA

What BIPEA does

BIPEA (Bureau Interprofessionnel d'Études Analytiques) is a French non-profit scientific association founded on September 3, 1970, by professional organizations in the grain and milling sectors including INRA and CNRS. Headquartered in Paris at CAP 18, the organization provides proficiency testing (PT) programs and certified reference materials for analytical laboratories performing physico-chemical, microbiological, and sensorial analyses. Its core platform comprises over 220 regular PT schemes spanning matrices including food, drinks, feed, waters, soils, air, and cosmetics, with more than 150,000 samples produced and shipped annually and over 800 interlaboratory comparison reports published per year.

The business model is membership-based with annual subscription pricing for PT programs, supplemented by transactional revenue from External Reference Material (ERM) sales, professional services fees for customized PT programs and training, and technical agreement services for institutional recognition. BIPEA holds ISO/IEC 17043 accreditation (COFRAC, since April 2004, accreditation #1-1495) for proficiency testing provision and ISO/IEC 17034 accreditation for reference material production, and serves as the French delegate to EURACHEM. The organization is governed through a General Assembly, Technical Management Board, Scientific Advisory Groups, and operational bureau, with revenue governed by member organizations rather than external investors.

BIPEA serves more than 4,000 participating laboratories across over 130 countries, distributing services through a member extranet portal, quote request system, direct sales, scientific publications, industry exhibitions, and multilingual digital channels (including the My BIPEA mobile app). Customer segments are horizontal across analytical laboratory types rather than concentrated in any single industry, with pricing quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The organization has expanded historically from its grain-sector origins into agri-food and contaminants (early 1990s), environmental testing (late 1990s), and cosmetics (2009), and continues to introduce new PT schemes (e.g., PFAS, 1,4-Dioxane in cosmetics, cosmetic oils, microbiology) alongside a complementary reference materials product line.

Name

BIPEA

Legal name

BIPEA

Website

https://bipea.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BIPEA is a French non-profit organization founded in 1970 that provides proficiency testing programs, certified reference materials, and training to over 4,000 analytical laboratories across more than 130 countries in food, drinks, feed, waters, soils, air, and cosmetics sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Laboratory Proficiency Testing Services

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (54138), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Proficiency Testing Programs & Schemes (Food PT Providers) (AFALAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Accreditation Support for ISO/IEC 17025 & PT Participation Compliance (Food Labs) (AFALAKAK)

Keywords

• Proficiency testing programs
• Reference materials
• Interlaboratory comparisons
• Laboratory quality assurance
• Analytical method validation

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Proficiency Testing Program Memberships: Laboratories pay membership fees to participate in BIPEA's proficiency testing programs. The organization provides PT schemes, sends samples, collects results, and publishes statistical reports validating laboratory performance.
2. Reference Materials Sales: Sale of External Reference Materials (ERM) to members. These reference materials are produced alongside PT programs and certified for analytical performance measurement.
3. Training Services: Technical training sessions on measurement uncertainty, method validation, and analytical techniques provided to laboratory professionals.
4. Customized PT Programs: Tailored proficiency testing programs created for specific organizations or industry groups with unique testing requirements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

BIPEA provides proficiency testing (PT) programs that send standardized samples to analytical laboratories, collect their results, and publish statistical reports evaluating their performance against peers. The organization runs 220+ regular PT programs covering physico-chemical, microbiological, and sensorial analyses across matrices including food, drinks, feed, waters, soils, air, and cosmetics, and complements this with External Reference Materials (ERM), customized PT schemes, technical training, and technical agreement services.

Product overview

BIPEA is a French non-profit European organization offering a comprehensive proficiency testing portfolio centered on its core Proficiency Testing Programs (PTS) platform. The core offering includes over 220 regular PT programs for physico-chemical, microbiological, and sensorial analyses across diverse matrices (food, drinks, feed, waters, soils, air, cosmetics). This core platform is complemented by complementary products and services: Reference Materials (ERM) for quality control between PT rounds, Customized PT Programs for group-specific needs, Training courses for professional development, Technical Agreement Services for institutional recognition, the My BIPEA Mobile Application for on-the-go access, and Accuracy Monitoring Charts for performance tracking. The organization operates under ISO 17043 and ISO 17034 accreditations, serving over 4,000 laboratories across more than 130 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Proficiency Testing Programs (PTS) Complete proficiency testing (PT) programs designed for physico-chemical, microbiological, and sensorial analyses. Over 220 regular PT programs covering matrices including food, drinks, feed, waters, soils, air, and cosmetics. BIPEA sends samples to participating laboratories, collects results, and publishes statistical reports validating laboratory performance.
• Reference Materials External Reference Materials (ERM) produced from the same batches used in proficiency testing programs. Certified reference materials with assigned values validated by technical program directors, available for purchase by members for quality control between PT rounds.
• Customized PT Programs Customized proficiency testing programs designed to meet specific group needs, including method validation/comparison, reference material production, quality control for laboratories, and statistical study of results.
• Training Technical and professional training courses covering method validation, measurement uncertainty, and other analytical laboratory topics. Training is provided by BIPEA experts or recognized specialists in the field and is Qualiopi certified.
• Technical Agreement Services Technical approval service between BIPEA and institutions (ministries, official or professional organizations) to provide technical evaluation of laboratories for official recognition purposes.
• My BIPEA Mobile Application Mobile application available on Google Play (Android) and App Store (iOS) providing access to BIPEA services, proficiency testing program information, and push notifications for important updates.
• Accuracy Monitoring Charts Graphical accuracy monitoring charts provided to PT participants, allowing them to track the accuracy of their results over time for specific parameters.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EURACHEMcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBIPEA serves as the official French representative in EURACHEM, a European organization that promotes valid analytical measurement results and supports laboratories in meeting quality standards.
• AFNORminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on standard validation in the seed sector.
• SNIA and COOP DE FRANCEminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on OQUALIM: Method and Laboratory Reference Committee.
• COFRACcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench accreditation body that provides ISO 17043 and ISO 17034 accreditations to BIPEA for proficiency testing programs and reference materials.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology): NIST produces Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) that anchor traceability for analytical laboratories worldwide. While not a commercial PT provider, NIST's reference materials compete in the same certified reference materials category as BIPEA's ERM offering.
• AOAC International: AOAC International develops analytical methods and operates the OMA and Performance Tested Methods programs. While broader than a pure PT provider, AOAC's method validation and interlaboratory studies overlap directly with BIPEA's core function in food and feed analytics.
• Merck (Sigma-Aldrich) Reference Materials: Merck's Sigma-Aldrich division is the world's largest producer of certified reference materials and analytical standards. It competes with BIPEA's External Reference Materials business while serving the same analytical laboratory customers across multiple matrices.

Regional players

• IRMM (Joint Research Centre, European Commission): The IRMM produces ERM reference materials for European regulatory and research use. While publicly funded and not a direct commercial competitor, IRMM operates in the same certified reference materials space as BIPEA's ERM product line.
• AOCS (American Oil Chemists' Society): AOCS runs the Smalley Check Sample Program for oil, fat, and oilseed analytical testing. It overlaps with BIPEA's feed and food PT programs in oil/fat matrices, particularly with BIPEA's newer PTS 523 cosmetic oils program.

Emerging players

• Restek Corporation: Restek manufactures certified reference materials and analytical standards for chromatography and mass spectrometry. It overlaps with BIPEA's reference materials offering and serves food safety, environmental, and pharmaceutical testing laboratories.
• Phenova (Wellington Laboratories): Phenova (now part of Wellington) provides proficiency testing samples and certified reference materials for environmental and analytical laboratories, particularly in PFAS, dioxins, and trace organic contaminants — overlapping with BIPEA's newer PFAS PT schemes.

Direct peers

• NSI Lab Solutions: NSI Lab Solutions is a US-based provider of proficiency testing and certified reference materials for environmental, food, and cannabis testing laboratories. It competes with BIPEA in environmental PT and serves a partially overlapping laboratory customer base.
• FAPAS (Food and Environment Research Agency): FAPAS, operated by Fera Science in the UK, runs the most widely used food and environmental proficiency testing schemes globally. It is a direct competitor to BIPEA's food, water, and environmental PT programs and serves the same laboratory customer base.
• LGC Standards: LGC Standards is the largest global provider of reference materials and proficiency testing schemes, directly competing with BIPEA in food, environmental, and clinical PT. Both operate accredited PT programs and sell certified reference materials to laboratories worldwide.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bipeap
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bipea

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 BIPEA