Maison Malartre

What Maison Malartre does

Maison Malartre is a fourth-generation, family-owned artisanal food manufacturer founded in 1947 by pâtissier Paul Malartre and based in Saint-Genis-Laval, in the Lyon metropolitan area. The company produces traditional Lyonnais and Burgundian gastronomic specialties — quenelles (six varieties plus four mini-quenelle variants), house-made sauces (including bisques and Sauce Nantua), soups and veloutés, Burgundy snails, frog legs, and Lyon-style cardoons — using manual, batch-by-batch methods with natural ingredients (pure butter, whole eggs, durum wheat semoule) and no additives. Manufacturing is co-located with a factory store (magasin d'usine) and supplemented by a Click & Collect ordering system; the current operating headcount is 1–10 employees.

The company's core technology is human craftsmanship rather than automation: hand-shaping of quenelles from a panade of durum semoule cooked in milk and butter, hand-peeling of cardoons blanched in the Monts du Lyonnais, daily-fresh persillade butter made without pre-cooking, and roux-based sauces built around a homemade crustacean coulis. Maison Malartre monetises through two complementary channels: direct-to-consumer sales via the factory store and Click & Collect (unit pricing in the €2.50–€12.00 range, e.g., quenelles from €3.00–€4.50, frog legs up to €12.00), and a B2B trade channel serving GMS, traiteurs, épiceries fines, restaurants, and wholesalers on quote-based terms with custom packaging.

The business is led by Arnaud GINET, the current owner/CEO, who has signalled intent to broaden the product range beyond strict Lyonnais traditions. Maison Malartre is a private, family-owned company with no external investors, no parent entity, no subsidiaries, no funding history, and no export footprint disclosed; its geographic reach is concentrated in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The brand holds a Gault & Millau coup de cœur for its quenelles de brochet with sauce Nantua, validating a premium artisanal positioning. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, and the company's scale is deliberately constrained by its manual production model.

Name

Maison Malartre

Legal name

Maison Malartre

Website

https://maison-malartre.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Maison Malartre is a fourth-generation, family-owned artisanal Lyonnais food manufacturer producing traditional quenelles, sauces, soups, cardoons, frog legs, and Burgundy snails, sold via its Saint-Genis-Laval factory store, Click & Collect, and B2B trade channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisanal French Food Manufacturing

NAICS

Food Manufacturing (311), Other Food Manufacturing (3119)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000), Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)

akta.pro primary industry

Pesto, Cooking Pastes & Concentrated Flavor Bases Manufacturing (AFAKADAN)

Keywords

• Artisanal food products
• Lyonnaise specialties
• Traditional quenelles
• French gastronomy
• Handmade sauces

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint-genis-laval

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Direct Product Sales — Consumer: Maison Malartre sells artisanal Lyonnais specialties directly to end-consumer customers through its factory store (magasin d'usine) and a Click & Collect online ordering system. Customers place orders online and collect at the store.
2. B2B Professional Sales: The company supplies professionals in the food trades — including GMS (mass retail), traiteurs, épiceries fines, restaurants, and wholesalers — with its full range of artisanal products, sold directly with tailored conditions and dedicated support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Maison Malartre is a fourth-generation artisanal food producer of traditional Lyonnais and Burgundian specialties, manufacturing quenelles, cardoons, frog legs, Burgundy snails, house-made sauces, and a range of soups and veloutés from its workshop in Saint-Genis-Laval, France. The company sells these products directly to consumers through an on-site factory store and a Click & Collect online ordering system, and supplies food service professionals (GMS, caterers, fine food shops, restaurants, and wholesalers) via a dedicated professional sales channel. All products are made with natural ingredients using manual, traditional methods.

Product overview

Maison Malartre is a fourth-generation artisanal French food company specializing in traditional Lyonnais and Burgundian gastronomic products. The product portfolio centers on six core product categories: artisanal quenelles (6 varieties plus 4 mini quenelle varieties), house-made sauces (5 varieties including bisques and Nantua), soups and veloutés (8 varieties), Burgundy snails (3 sizes), frog legs (2 preparations), and Lyon-style cardoons (3 varieties). Products are manufactured using traditional methods with natural ingredients including pure butter, whole eggs, and durum wheat semoule, with a focus on manual craftsmanship. The company operates a factory store with Click & Collect service and serves B2B professional customers in food retail, catering, and restaurants. The company received a Gault & Millau 'coup de cœur' recognition for its pike quenelles with Nantua sauce.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Artisanal Quenelles Handmade quenelles in six varieties (Nature, Volaille, Volaille et Morilles, Saumon, Brochet aux écrevisses, Mousses de brochet), made with durum wheat semoule, butter, and whole eggs, shaped by hand and poached in simmering water. Targeted at families and food professionals seeking authentic Lyonnais quenelles.
• Mini Quenelles Smaller-sized quenelle varieties in four flavors (Chorizo, Comté, Saumon, Nature), designed for appetizers or as finger food, prepared by pan-frying, oven baking, or deep-frying. Targeted at caterers, hosts, and households seeking bite-sized Lyonnais specialty items.
• House Sauces (Sauces Maison) Five artisanal sauce varieties — Bisque aux écrevisses (crayfish bisque), Bisque de homard (lobster bisque), Sauce crustacée (crab and crayfish sauce), Sauce financière (olive and mushroom sauce), and Sauce Nantua (crayfish sauce) — prepared using the traditional roux method with a homemade crustacean coulis. For consumers pairing with quenelles and for restaurants and caterers needing ready-made signature sauces.
• Soups & Veloutés Eight varieties of artisanal soups and veloutés — Chestnut & Porcini, Butternut Squash & Chestnut, Butternut Squash, Carrot & Tomato, Red Lentil & Coconut Milk, Vegetable Soup, Tomato Gazpacho, and Mediterranean Vegetable Soup — slow-cooked in traditional pots and sterilized in bottles. Targeted at consumers seeking ready-to-eat traditional soups and at food service professionals needing consistent quality.
• Frog Legs (Cuisses de Grenouilles) Wild frog legs prepared two ways — in persillade butter or breaded — made fresh daily with handmade persillade butter that is never pre-cooked, available in 300g or 600g trays. Targeted at consumers and restaurants seeking authentic French frog leg preparations with pronounced flavor and freshness.
• Burgundy Snails (Escargots de Bourgogne) Wild Burgundy snails (Helix Pomatia) in three sizes (belle grosseur, très gros, extra gros), carefully hand-shelled and buttered with French butter enhanced with garlic and parsley, packed in trays of a dozen or frozen bags of three dozen. Targeted at consumers, restaurants, and caterers serving traditional French snail preparations.
• Lyon-Style Cardoons (Cardons Lyonnais) Three varieties of tender, fiber-free, non-bitter Lyon-style cardoons sourced from a partner producer in the Monts du Lyonnais, field-blanched to preserve qualities and hand-threaded to ensure absence of fibers, available as Organic, Prepared (cuisinés), or Natural (effilés à la main). Targeted at consumers and food professionals preparing traditional Lyonnais cardoon dishes.
• Chestnuts (Marrons) Chestnut products completing the range of gourmet regional specialties that represent Lyonnais culinary identity. Targeted at consumers seeking traditional Lyonnaise chestnut preparations.
• Factory Store (Magasin d'Usine) On-site boutique at the manufacturing workshop in Saint-Genis-Laval, open Monday–Thursday 14h–18h and Friday 08h–12h, offering direct purchase of all product ranges. Targeted at end consumers and visitors seeking direct-from-producer purchases.
• Click & Collect Service Online ordering service allowing customers to place orders via the website and collect purchases at the factory store, with minimum 24-hour notice required. Targeted at local consumers seeking a convenient pre-order option.
• Professional / B2B Service Bulk ordering service for food industry professionals — including GMS (mass retail), caterers (traiteurs), fine food shops (épiceries fines), restaurants, and wholesalers — with customized packaging, tailored commercial conditions, and dedicated account support. Targeted at food trade professionals requiring reliable, regular supply of authentic Lyonnais and Burgundian specialties.

Quantifiable outcome

• Gault & Millau coup de cœur awarded for quenelles de brochet with sauce Nantua

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Cardoon Producer — Monts du LyonnaiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaison Malartre has a long-standing partnership with a cardoon producer in the Monts du Lyonnais, selected by the company. Cardoons are blanched directly in the fields approximately 20 km from the manufacturing site to preserve their qualities, then hand-peeled in the workshop. This partnership ensures consistent quality and proximity of supply for one of Maison Malartre's flagship regional products.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Hédiard: Hédiard is a historic French luxury gourmet brand offering premium preserved foods, sauces, and specialty items through high-end retail. Comparable to Maison Malartre in the premium French specialty food category but operating at significantly broader scale, national/international distribution, and a wider product portfolio.
• William Saurin: William Saurin is one of France's largest prepared-meal brands, distributing canned and shelf-stable traditional dishes (cassoulet, blanquette, etc.) through mass retail. Comparable to Maison Malartre in the French traditional prepared-food category, but at industrial scale and via mainstream grocery rather than artisan channels.
• St Michel (Saint-Michel): St Michel is a French industrial manufacturer of madeleines, biscuits, and related bakery products sold across French retail. Comparable to Maison Malartre in the French prepared/baked food category, but operating at industrial scale rather than artisan scale.
• Fauchon: Fauchon is a Paris-based luxury French gourmet house spanning pastries, prepared dishes, teas, and preserved foods. Comparable to Maison Malartre in the premium French artisanal food positioning and gifting/retail channels, but with a much wider product mix and global brand reach.
• La Mère Poulard: La Mère Poulard is a historic French brand best known for artisanal butter cookies and biscuits, sold through its own boutiques and fine-food retail. Comparable to Maison Malartre in the heritage-driven French artisanal food positioning and boutique/factory-store retail model.
• Ducs de Gascogne: Ducs de Gascogne is a French regional gourmet brand selling preserves, sauces, and specialty foods through retail and food-service channels. Comparable to Maison Malartre as a French artisanal/regional food brand positioned in fine-food retail, though with broader geographic and product reach.

Direct peers

• Giraudet: Giraudet is a Lyon-based artisanal maker of quenelles and accompanying sauces, founded in 1910. It is the closest direct peer to Maison Malartre, sharing the same product category (quenelles and bisque-style sauces), the same regional Lyonnais positioning, and the same traditional artisan-manufacturing approach.
• Marius Bernard: Marius Bernard is a French producer specializing in escargots and prepared snail dishes, a core product line for Maison Malartre. Comparable as a French artisanal/traditional prepared-food manufacturer focused on a specific regional gastronomic specialty.
• La Belle Chaurienne: La Belle Chaurienne produces regional French prepared dishes (cassoulet, confit, lentils, etc.) from its base in southwest France. Comparable to Maison Malartre as a French artisanal producer of traditional regional prepared foods distributed via retail and food-service channels.

Emerging players

• Le Père Benoît: Le Père Benoît is a small French artisanal producer of quenelles and Lyonnais specialties, comparable to Maison Malartre as a direct niche competitor in handmade quenelles and traditional sauces for regional retail and food-service customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MaisonMalartre
• Facebookfacebook.com/maisonmalartre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/maison-malartre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 Maison Malartre