La Cooperative de Yenne

What La Cooperative de Yenne does

La Cooperative de Yenne (legal name: Société coopérative laitière de Yenne Porte de Savoie) is a French agricultural cooperative founded in 1962 and headquartered in Yenne, Savoie. It collects cow's milk daily from member-producers in the Chat, Charve, and Épine massifs and around Lake Aiguebelette, transforming it into traditional Savoyard cheeses under a multi-decade artisan process comprising raw-milk coagulation at 33°C with artisanal rennet, cooking, 6-hour pressing, 48-hour brining, and cave aging at 9°C for 4 to 12+ months with regular salting, rubbing, and turning. The cooperative manages approximately 9,000 cheese wheels in its caves and produces roughly 2,000 tonnes of cheese annually.

The product portfolio spans AOP cheeses (Comté extra, Reblochon de Savoie, Beaufort), IGP cheeses (Raclette de Savoie, Emmental de Savoie, Tomme de Savoie), mountain cheeses (Meule de Savoie La Dent du Chat), organic BIO-certified variants (Tommette de Yenne Bio, Meule de Savoie Bio, Raclette de Savoie Bio), fermier goat cheeses (Crotin de Chèvre, Tomme de Chèvre Fermière), and flavored tommes (garlic, wild garlic). The cooperative sells through four physical retail locations (Yenne, Ayn-Dullin, Chambéry, Sevrier, two of which are joint operations with Coopérative Laitière du Beaufortain under the 'Tommes et Beaufort' brand), a direct-to-consumer e-commerce site (coop-de-yenne.fr) with cold-chain delivery via Colissimo and Chronofresh across France, Corsica, and Belgium, and a wholesale channel to third-party retailers and hospitality. Exports extend to England, North America, and Japan.

Revenue is generated primarily through one-time unit sales of cheese by weight, with retail prices ranging from approximately €7.40 to €28.45 per piece and additional monetized add-ons including local wines, honey, charcuterie, jams, and merchandise (aprons, insulated bags). The cooperative is owned by its member-producers, with no disclosed institutional investment, declared social capital of €58, and multiple industry awards (Concours Général Agricole gold medals in 2009, 2012, 2014, and 2017) supporting premium positioning.

Name

La Cooperative de Yenne

Legal name

Société coopérative laitière de Yenne Porte de Savoie

Website

https://coop-de-yenne.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisan Cheeses

NAICS

Cheese Manufacturing (311513)

SIC

Dairy Products (2020)

akta.pro primary industry

Ripened Natural Cheese Manufacturing (Semi-Soft, Hard & Blue) (AFAHABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fresh/Natural Cheese Manufacturing (Unripened & Soft) (AFAHABAA), Cheese Wholesale (AFAIAEAC), Cheese (Natural & Processed) (CRADACAC)

Keywords

• Artisan cheesemaking
• Savoyard cheeses
• Dairy cooperative
• Raw milk cheese
• Organic dairy products

Headquarters

HQ city

Yenne

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Cheese and Dairy Product Sales: The cooperative generates revenue primarily through the sale of artisan cheeses manufactured from locally collected cow's milk. Products are sold through direct retail stores, e-commerce, and to third-party retailers. The cooperative also sells complementary local products (wines, honey, charcuterie, jams) at its retail locations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

La Cooperative de Yenne manufactures and sells traditional Savoyard artisan cheeses from raw and pasteurized cow and goat milk collected from member farms in the Savoie region. The cooperative's portfolio includes AOP cheeses (Reblochon, Beaufort, Comté), IGP cheeses (Tomme de Savoie, Raclette, Emmental), organic (BIO/ECOCERT) cheeses, mountain cheeses, and specialty varieties. Products are sold through four owned retail locations, an e-commerce site, joint retail outlets with another cooperative, wholesale channels, and exports to England, North America, and Japan.

Product overview

La Cooperative de Yenne is a dairy cooperative offering a diverse portfolio of Savoyard cheeses. The core product line includes Tomme de Yenne (their signature soft, fragrant cheese), Meule de Savoie La Dent du Chat (pressed cooked curd mountain cheese), Tomme de Savoie I.G.P., Raclette de Savoie (including smoked and organic variants), Comté extra A.O.P., Reblochon de Savoie A.O.P., Beaufort A.O.P., and Emmental de Savoie I.G.P. Specialty products include Cailladou (garlic-herb coated cheese), goat cheeses like Crotin de Chèvre and Tomme de Chèvre Fermière, and flavored tommes such as Tomme à l'ail and Tomme à l'ail des ours. The cooperative also offers organic-certified products under BIO label through ECOCERT, as well as complementary products including Savoie wines, honey, bread, charcuterie, jams, kitchen aprons, and insulated bags. Products are available for direct sale at the cooperative and through online ordering with cold-chain shipping.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tomme de Yenne

Quantifiable outcome

• Médaille d'or C.G.A. Paris 2014 for Tomme de Savoie IGP au lait cru
• +3 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Coopérative Laitière du BeaufortaincoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorJoint retail operations with Coopérative laitière du Beaufortain at Chambéry and Sevrier stores, operating under the shared brand 'Tommes et Beaufort'. Both cooperatives supply their respective cheeses (Beaufort from Beaufortain; Tomme de Savoie, Comté, and others from Yenne) to the combined retail network.
• ECOCERTcoreOthersECOCERT is the certifying body for the cooperative's organic/BIO product line (Agriculture Biologique certification). Products including Tommette Bio, Meule de Savoie Bio, Raclette Bio, and Gruyère de Savoie Bio are certified under ECOCERT standards.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Savencia Fromage & Dairy: French dairy multinational with strong AOP-cheese portfolio (Saint-Nectaire, Fourme d'Ambert). Competes in retail cheese aisles across France and exports; benchmark for premiumization strategy.
• Bel Group: French cheese multinational (Laughing Cow, Leerdammer, Boursin). A broad incumbent shaping shelf-space economics and brand-building investment levels Coop de Yenne must compete against.
• Sodiaal (Entremont): France's largest dairy cooperative, parent of Entremont (cheese). Same cooperative legal form but mass-market positioning; represents the scale-end of the cheese cooperative archetype Coop de Yenne belongs to.

Emerging players

• Fromagerie Guilloteau: Innovative French cheesemaker behind Pavé d'Affinois. Comparable as a small-to-mid French dairy brand built on premiumization and direct distribution rather than commodity cheese scale.

Direct peers

• Maison Marcel Petite: Specialist Comté affineur and producer; comparable in cave-aging expertise, AOP positioning, and aging-program differentiation (Comté aged 8-24 months). Counterpart for premium long-aged cheese production.
• Coopérative Laitière du Beaufortain: Direct partner cooperative jointly operating Chambéry and Sevrier retail stores under the 'Tommes et Beaufort' banner. Produces Beaufort AOP and other Savoyard cheeses; closest operational and structural peer as a milk-producer-owned cooperative in Savoie.
• Fromagerie de l'Abbaye de Tamié: Monastic cheesemaker in Savoie producing Reblochon, Tome des Bauges, and Beaufort-style cheeses. Directly comparable in geography, traditional raw-milk production, and AOP-anchored product portfolio.
• Fromagerie Chabert: Savoie-based cheese group producing Tomme de Savoie, Reblochon, Raclette, and Emmental. A larger regional peer with overlapping AOP/IGP portfolio and national distribution reach.
• Fromagerie Picon: Family-run cheesemaker in the Yenne/Savoie area producing AOC cheeses including Beaufort. Closest geographic peer with comparable member-milk sourcing model.

Others

• Les Fromages de Savoie (Syndicat interprofessionnel): Interprofessional body representing AOP/IGP Savoie cheeses. Not a competitor but a key ecosystem participant governing the regulatory framework (AOP/IGP) Coop de Yenne's products depend on.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights8 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=ihEcOT1dx9I
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Compliance5 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 La Cooperative de Yenne