What Laboratoires Humeau does

Laboratoires Humeau is a privately held French B2B distributor of laboratory equipment, instruments, consumables, and reagents, founded around 1938–1939 and headquartered in Couëron in the Nantes metropolitan area. The company sells more than 50,000 referenced products sourced from over 500 suppliers, covering spectrophotometers, microbiology media and PCR kits, chromatography equipment and consumables, single-use plastics, laboratory furniture, hygiene/safety products, and a proprietary Humeau/Prisma line of visible and UV-visible spectrophotometers. Its customer base is composed of professional laboratories across quality control, research/education, and industrial segments, served in France and selected export markets.

The business operates three go-to-market motions in parallel: a 10-rep field sales force providing on-site technical consultation, a 7-person inside sales team ("Chefs Produits") handling quotes and technical inquiries, and a direct e-commerce platform at humeau.com with reference-based ordering, CSV bulk upload, and personalized B2B pricing. Recurring revenue is generated through a 6-technician SAV-Métrologie (after-sales and metrology/calibration) department, which services the installed base of analytical instruments.

The revenue model is primarily transactional product distribution — catalog sales of hardware and consumables to professional laboratories — supplemented by service revenue from calibration, maintenance, and technical support. Pricing is unit-based, ex-VAT, with tiered discounts available through customer accounts. Humeau does not disclose revenue, has no external funding, no parent company, and no subsidiaries; it operates as an independent, mature distributor with 11–50 employees.

Name

Laboratoires Humeau

Legal name

Laboratoires Humeau

Website

https://humeau.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1939

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Laboratoires Humeau is a privately held French B2B distributor founded around 1938, supplying professional laboratories with 50,000+ products across equipment, consumables, reagents, and its own-brand spectrophotometers via field, inside, and e-commerce channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Laboratory Equipment Distribution

NAICS

Medical, Dental, and Hospital Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (423450), Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)

SIC

Wholesale-Medical, Dental & Hospital Equipment & Supplies (5047), Wholesale-Professional & Commercial Equipment & Supplies (5040), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Maintenance, Service Contracts & Equipment Repair (Field Service, Parts) (HLAGAIAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Raw Materials & Critical Reagents Supply (Media/Resins/Cytokines) (HLAGAGAI), Raw Materials & Critical Reagents Supply Services (media, resins, single-use) (HLAAAKAI)

Keywords

• Laboratory equipment distribution
• Scientific instruments supply
• Microbiology consumables
• Laboratory reagents wholesale
• Spectrophotometer distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

La Chapelle-sur-erdre

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Laboratory Equipment Distribution: Humeau generates revenue through the distribution of laboratory equipment, instruments, and scientific supplies to professional laboratories. The company acts as a distributor for over 500 brands and also sells proprietary Humeau-brand products including spectrophotometers.
2. Consumables and Reagents: Sale of laboratory consumables including single-use products, chemical reagents, culture media, test strips, and accessories. Products sold in various pack sizes from individual units to bulk cartons.
3. After-Sales Service and Metrology: Technical maintenance and calibration services for laboratory equipment through the SAV-Métrologie department, providing ongoing service revenue from installed customer base.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Laboratoires Humeau distributes more than 50,000 laboratory equipment items, instruments, consumables, and chemical reagents sourced from over 500 suppliers to professional laboratories. The company also sells its own proprietary Humeau-brand spectrophotometers (UV-21, UV-31, V-10 Plus) and provides after-sales metrology, calibration, and technical sales support services across France and export markets.

Product overview

Laboratoires Humeau is a major French distributor of laboratory equipment, materials, and consumables with over 85 years of experience. The company offers more than 50,000 referenced products from over 500 suppliers. The product portfolio is organized into eight main categories: (1) Microbiology products including culture media, test strips, PCR kits, and bacterial strains; (2) Chemical products including reagents, enzymatic kits, and water analysis solutions; (3) Single-use/disposable laboratory products including syringes, pipettes, and filtration items; (4) General laboratory equipment including spectrophotometers (HUMEAU UV-21, HACH DR series, JENWAY, WTW PhotoLab, Lovibond XD 7000, Prisma), centrifuges, incubators, and balances; (5) Chromatography equipment and consumables; (6) Laboratory furniture and safety cabinets; (7) Hygiene and safety products; and (8) Food industry ingredients and ferments. The company also distributes its own branded spectrophotometers (UV-31 Scan, V-10 Plus, V-11 Scan) and distributes products from major international brands including HACH, JENWAY, WTW, LOVIBOND, PRISMA, HANNA INSTRUMENTS, BRAND, MERCK, and others. Services include technical sales support, SAV-metrology maintenance, and express ordering via CSV file upload.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Spectrophotometers (UV-Visible and Visible Range) Laboratory instruments for measuring light intensity at specific wavelengths to quantify compounds in solution, offered in UV-visible and visible models for colorimetric analysis, water testing, and quality control applications in research and industrial laboratories.
• HUMEAU UV-21 UV/Visible Spectrophotometer UV-visible spectrophotometer with wavelength range 195-1050nm for analytical applications in research and quality control laboratories, distributed under the proprietary Humeau brand.
• HUMEAU TOUCH UV-31 Scan Spectrophotometer UV-visible scanning spectrophotometer (190-1100nm) with touchscreen interface, USB flash memory, and multilingual operating system for photometry, quantification, and spectrum scanning applications.
• Prisma V-10 Plus Visible Spectrophotometer Visible spectrophotometer (325-1000nm) for colorimetric analysis and routine measurements in quality control, food industry, water analysis, wine analysis, and pharmaceutical applications.
• HACH DR6000 UV/Visible Spectrophotometer High-performance UV-visible spectrophotometer with 240 preprogrammed methods and RFID technology for automatic test recognition and quality tracking in water analysis applications, distributed from partner brand HACH.
• JENWAY 6300/6320D Visible Spectrophotometer Visible range spectrophotometer (320-1000nm) for routine laboratory applications in teaching, quality control, and industry with absorbance, %T, and concentration measurement modes.
• WTW PhotoLab 7100 VIS Spectrophotometer Visible range spectrophotometer (320-1100nm) with systematic and spectral analysis capabilities, automatic cuvette detection, and over 250 test programs for water, wastewater, and food industry applications.
• Accuris SmartReader Microplate Reader 96-well microplate absorbance reader with 7-inch touchscreen interface for ELISA, protein quantification, DNA/RNA analysis, and high-throughput screening applications.
• Microbiology Products Complete range of microbiology products including test strips, culture media (chromogenic, dehydrated, ready-to-use), PCR kits, allergy tests, mycotoxin tests, bacterial strains, and surface control products for microbiology laboratories.
• Chemical Products and Reagents Chemical reagents including Merckoquant test strips, pH strips, enzymatic kits, water analysis reagents (Hach, Hanna, Lovibond, Merck, WTW, Orchidis), standard solutions, and milk testing products for analytical laboratories.
• Single-Use Laboratory Products Extensive range of disposable laboratory items including syringes, needles, pipettes, micropipette tips, Petri dishes, filtration units, tubes, bottles, culture flasks, bags, and microplates for routine laboratory operations.
• Inoculation Loops and Anses (Platinum, Plastic, Reusable) Microbiology instruments for collecting bacterial or fungal samples from culture media, available in platinum (high-temperature sterilizable), single-use plastic (polystyrene/polypropylene), and nichrome variants for microbiology laboratories.
• Laboratory Equipment and Instrumentation Full equipment catalog including shakers, balances, incubators, ovens, autoclaves, centrifuges, microscopes, pH meters, conductivity meters, turbidimeters, lyophilizers, and PCR systems for professional laboratories.
• Chromatography Products HPLC, GC, and thin-layer chromatography equipment, columns, vials, syringes, solvents, SPE and QuEChERS extraction materials, and accessories for analytical chromatography applications.
• Laboratory Furniture Laboratory furniture including safety cabinets, workbenches (Trespa, epoxy resin, laminated), sinks, seating, fume hoods, and accessories for laboratory setup.
• Hygiene and Safety Products Laboratory safety equipment including protective clothing, gloves, eye protection, respiratory protection, ear protection, waste containers, and hygiene products for laboratory personnel.
• Food Industry Ingredients and Ferments Food industry ingredients including flavors, natural bio flavors, ferments (lactic bacteria for cheese, bio-protection, fermented milks), aromas, and supplies for cheese-making applications.
• Spectrophotometer Accessories Accessories including cuvettes (glass, quartz, plastic), lamps, sample holders, automatic samplers, RFID kits, validation kits, printers, and software for spectrophotometer systems.
• SAV-Métrologie After-Sales Service and Calibration Technical maintenance, calibration, and metrology services for laboratory equipment through the SAV-Métrologie department staffed with 6 qualified technicians, providing ongoing service revenue and equipment reliability for installed customer base.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced procurement complexity through single-source supplier relationship
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• HACHcoreTechnology or IntegrationHumeau distributes HACH spectrophotometers and analytical instruments including DR6000, DR3900, DR1900 models, and associated reagents and accessories. HACH is a leading manufacturer of water analysis and spectrophotometry equipment.
• LOVIBONDcoreTechnology or IntegrationDistribution partnership for LOVIBOND spectrophotometers including XD 7000 model and color measurement instruments for water, food, and beverage analysis applications.
• JENWAYcoreTechnology or IntegrationDistribution of JENWAY spectrophotometers (models 6300, 6320D, 6305) for visible and UV-visible analysis applications in laboratory environments.
• WTW (Xylem Analytics)coreTechnology or IntegrationDistribution of WTW PhotoLab series spectrophotometers including PhotoLab 7100 VIS for water analysis and environmental monitoring applications.
• HANNA INSTRUMENTScoreTechnology or IntegrationDistribution of HANNA photometers and reagents for water analysis including nitrate testers, chlorine meters, and associated chemical reagents.
• PRISMA (Humeau Brand)coreTechnology or IntegrationHumeau's proprietary brand relationship for spectrophotometers including PRISMA V-10 Plus, V-11 Scan, UV-31 models, representing Humeau's own-label instrument line.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Labbox: Iberian laboratory consumables and equipment distributor with a comparable mid-sized European footprint and multi-channel distribution; matches Humeau's positioning as a non-specialist generalist serving QC and research labs.
• Fisher Scientific: Global laboratory equipment, instruments, and consumables distributor with a strong French and broader European presence; directly comparable to Humeau in product breadth (50,000+ SKUs), B2B lab customer base, and multi-channel distribution model. Operates as the principal direct competitor to Humeau in France.
• VWR (part of Avantor): One of the world's largest distributors of laboratory supplies and equipment with extensive European operations; competes head-to-head with Humeau across spectrophotometry, microbiology, chromatography, and general lab consumables. Comparable in catalog breadth and B2B customer mix.
• Carl Roth: German mid-market lab supply distributor with a similarly broad catalog across chemicals, consumables, and lab equipment; comparable in size, family/private ownership heritage, and European regional footprint serving research, QC, and industrial labs.
• Th. Geyer: German laboratory supply distributor specializing in consumables, reagents, and lab equipment for research and industrial customers; comparable mid-sized privately-held European distributor with similar product breadth and customer mix.
• Dutscher Scientific: French-headquartered laboratory products distributor serving the same B2B research, QC, and life-science customer base; closest geographic and segment peer, and a likely consolidation partner or competitor for any France-focused lab distribution platform.

Broad incumbents

• Merck MilliporeSigma: Life-science tools and reagents giant with direct European sales presence across chemistry, microbiology, and analytical instrumentation. Overlaps with Humeau's reagents and lab-chemicals business and represents both a supplier relationship and a direct competitor for premium lab supplies.
• Avantor: Global parent of VWR and a leading distributor and manufacturer of lab products; comparable as the strategic incumbent operating one of Humeau's closest direct peers (VWR) and serving as a benchmark for scale economics in laboratory distribution.
• Hach (Lange): A core supplier to Humeau for spectrophotometers and water-analysis reagents, Hach is a global manufacturer with direct distribution capability. Comparable because it sits at the intersection of analytical instrumentation and reagent supply — categories Humeau also addresses — and could vertically integrate around the channel Humeau currently occupies.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Global parent of Fisher Scientific; serves as the broadest incumbent in life-science equipment, consumables, and services with much larger scale. Relevant as the strategic ceiling competitor and as the parent of Humeau's most direct global peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/laboshumeau
• Facebookfacebook.com/laboratoiresHumeau
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/laboratoires-humeau

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 Laboratoires Humeau