Goumand Passport

What Goumand Passport does

Passeport Gourmand is a privately-held French restaurant discount guide business founded in 1987 in Lyon by Thierry Pradat and now headquartered in Bordeaux. The company operates a franchise/network model in which independent regional publishers (concessionnaires) manage geographically-bounded editions covering France, Switzerland, and French overseas territories including New Caledonia and French Polynesia. Eleven regional editions are active today (Annecy & Savoie, Bordeaux & Gironde, Haut-Rhin, Nantes & Pays de Loire, Nouvelle-Calédonie, Orléans-Blois-Loiret, Polynésie Française, Rennes & Bretagne, Rouen & Normandie, Strasbourg & Bas-Rhin, Suisse), with five additional regions listed as "coming soon" (Paris & Île-de-France, Nice & Côte d'Azur, Aix-Marseille & Provence, Pays Basque, and Franche-Comté & Besançon).

The core product is an annual physical guidebook that offers tiered discounts of up to 50% (for parties of two) at 1,500+ partner restaurants, bistros, wine bars, vineyards, and gourmet boutiques. The guide is priced at approximately €50–€100 depending on region, with the Bordeaux & Gironde edition retailing at €64. The technology platform is a lightweight web presence consisting of the central passport-gourmand.com WordPress site plus regional subdomain e-commerce stores running on a shared checkout system (pg.double-double.io), supported by an email newsletter (Infolettre Gourmande) and social media accounts. There is no native mobile app. Restaurant partner pages are published on the regional websites with editorial copy and photography.

Revenue is generated through two streams: (1) one-time consumer purchases of the physical guide via direct e-commerce, Amazon, Fnac, Cultura, independent bookstores, and tourism offices; and (2) recurring annual partnership fees paid by restaurants for inclusion, marketing exposure, and guaranteed customer traffic. Restaurant partner renewal exceeds 87% between editions. The business is run with a very lean central team (1–10 employees) under current owner Stéphane Cros, who assumed full control in 2022 after Thierry Pradat's retirement. No external institutional funding has been disclosed.

Name

Goumand Passport

Legal name

ÉDITIONS DE JUSTINE ET CAPUCINE

Website

https://passeport-gourmand.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Passeport Gourmand is a French restaurant discount guide business selling annual printed guides that offer up to 50% off at 1,500+ partner restaurants across 10+ regional editions in France, Switzerland, and overseas territories, operated through a franchise network of independent regional publishers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Restaurant Discount Guide

NAICS

Other Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services (56159)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Travel Subscription, Membership & Deal Clubs (THAKAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Group & Small-Group Custom Itinerary Planning (THAKAOAF), Culinary Walking & Market Tours (THAJAGAA)

Keywords

• Restaurant discount guide
• Dining guidebook
• Culinary discount book
• Gourmet guide network
• Restaurant partnership program

Headquarters

HQ city

Bordeaux

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices12 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Guide Sales (One-time purchase): Customers purchase physical guide books (Passeport Gourmand) that provide discounts at partner restaurants. Each regional edition costs between 50€ and 100€ depending on the region and number of partners. The guide is valid for one year from purchase date. Revenue is generated from direct consumer sales via websites, Amazon, Fnac, Cultura, and physical retail locations including bookstores and tourism offices.
2. Restaurant Partnership Fees: Restaurants pay to be featured in the guide through annual partnership agreements. Partners receive marketing exposure (full page with professional photos), guaranteed new customer traffic, and billing guarantee. More than 87% of restaurant partners renew their contracts between editions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Goumand Passport (Passeport Gourmand) sells annual regional restaurant discount guidebooks that grant holders up to 50% off food bills at more than 1,500 partner restaurants, bistros, wine bars, gourmet shops, and experience venues across France, Switzerland, and overseas territories (New Caledonia, French Polynesia). Discounts are tiered by party size (50% for two, 40% for three, 30% for four, 20% for five to six) and the guide is valid for one full year from purchase.

Product overview

Passeport Gourmand is a restaurant discount guide business offering a single core product — the Passeport Gourmand guidebook — available in multiple regional editions. The guide provides exclusive discounts of up to 50% at partner restaurants, bistros, wine shops, and experience venues across 10+ regional editions covering France (including Alsace, Aquitaine, Brittany, Normandy, Loire Valley, Pays de Savoie), Switzerland, and overseas territories (New Caledonia, French Polynesia). The physical guidebook is supplemented by online partner directories and is valid for one year from purchase, with tiered discount rates based on party size.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Passeport Gourmand (regional discount guidebooks) Annual physical restaurant discount guidebook sold to individual consumers, providing tiered discounts of up to 50% at 1,500+ partner restaurants, bistros, wine bars, gourmet shops, and experiences across multiple regional editions in France, Switzerland, and overseas territories. Valid for one year from purchase with no menu restrictions.
• Restaurant Partnership Program Annual partnership program for restaurants, bistros, brasseries, wine bars, gourmet shops, and experience providers who join the guide to receive guaranteed new customer traffic, a full-page feature with professional photos and editorial content, and marketing exposure. Partners renew at a rate above 87% between editions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 50% discount on food for table of 2, 40% for table of 3, 30% for table of 4, 20% for tables of 5-6
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Stéphane CroscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Current owner and leader of Passeport Gourmand. Joined the network in 2017 by acquiring Passeport Gourmand Aquitaine, then took sole control in 2022 when Thierry Pradat retired. Guides the overall brand strategy and franchise operations.
• Serge Laffort (Aquitaine)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2017Communication specialist who launched the Aquitaine edition in 1995 alongside Jean-Luc Holz, driving expansion of the 2nd generation of franchisees.
• Jean-Luc Holz (Alsace Edition)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 1988One of the original franchisees from 1988 who launched the Alsace edition alongside founder Thierry Pradat. Still managing the Alsace editions today, including both Haut-Rhin (Mulhouse) and Strasbourg & Bas-Rhin editions.
• Xavier Perrinel (Loire-Atlantique Edition)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 1988Original franchisee from 1988 who launched the Loire-Atlantique edition (now Nantes & Pays de Loire). Still managing the regional edition through Groupe Axcom.
• Regional Publisher Network (10+ editions)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNetwork of independent regional publishers managing editions across France (Annecy, Blois Orléans, Bordeaux, Haut-Rhin, Nantes, Rennes, Rouen, Strasbourg), Switzerland, and overseas territories (Nouvelle-Calédonie, Polynésie Française). Each publisher operates their own e-commerce and distribution.
• Restaurant Partners (1500+ establishments)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRestaurants, bistros, brasseries, wine bars, gourmet shops, and experience providers across all regional editions. Partners receive guaranteed new customer traffic, free marketing (full page with professional photos), and 87%+ renewal rate.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Voyage Privé: Voyage Privé is a French private-sales club for travel and leisure experiences, including dining offers at partner restaurants and hotels. It operates a similar membership/deal-club model but is much larger in scale and broader in category, encompassing hotels, travel packages, and lifestyle offers.
• OpenTable: OpenTable is a global online restaurant reservation platform with significant French presence. It provides diners with discovery, reviews, and booking — competing for consumer mindshare in restaurant discovery and reducing the appeal of a standalone printed discount guide.
• Michelin Guide (Gault & Millau): Michelin Guide is the dominant French restaurant-rating publication, providing editorial content and recognized dining recommendations. While it does not sell discount memberships, it competes for the same premium French dining discovery mindshare and partner-restaurant attention.

Direct peers

• Smartbox: Smartbox sells gift-box experiences (including restaurant dining experiences) in France and Europe using a similar pre-paid discount club model. While experiences are packaged differently, the underlying consumer purchase behavior (pre-pay for discount at partner restaurants) and merchant-partnership economics are closely comparable.
• TheFork (LaFourchette): TheFork (formerly LaFourchette in France) is a leading restaurant discovery and online reservation platform owned by Tripadvisor. It directly competes for the same French restaurant-discovery and dining-deal consumer, though it monetizes via restaurant commissions and online booking rather than a discount guidebook.
• Groupon: Groupon operates a deals marketplace with significant restaurant discount offerings in France. While broader than dining alone, it competes for the same value-conscious diner seeking restaurant promotions and overlaps in local restaurant merchant acquisition.
• Wonderbox: Wonderbox is a major French experience-gift-box company offering curated dining and gourmet experiences at partner restaurants. Like Passeport Gourmand, it sells pre-paid access to discounted partner restaurants via a physical product and recruits merchants into a discount network.

Emerging players

• Zenchef: Zenchef is a French restaurant marketing and online booking SaaS platform that helps restaurants acquire and retain diners via digital tools. It competes with Passeport Gourmand for the same restaurant partner wallet, but via a SaaS subscription rather than a consumer-facing discount club.
• Routard (Hachette Livre): Le Routard is France's leading printed travel guidebook series (published by Hachette Livre), covering regional and gastronomic recommendations. While its primary focus is broader travel, its regional culinary guides and restaurant recommendations overlap with Passeport Gourmand's editorial positioning.

Regional players

• American Express France: American Express offers card-linked dining benefits and exclusive restaurant offers to its French cardholders. While not a direct competitor to a printed guidebook, it competes for the same premium French diner wallet through a membership/discount-club mechanism with restaurant partners.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/PasseportGourmandLoiretLoirEtCher
• Xx.com/PassGourmand

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Goumand Passport