What Adepale does

Adepale, now operating under the trade name Pact'Alim, is a French non-profit professional association (Association des PME et ETI françaises de l'alimentation) founded in 1987 and headquartered at 44 rue d'Alésia in Paris. The organization serves as the collective voice and lobbying body for approximately 3,000 French small and medium-sized enterprises (PME) and intermediate-sized companies (ETI) operating across the food processing sector, including fresh deli, preserved/frozen/dehydrated foods, legumes, rice, and fresh ready-to-use vegetables. Its 3,000 member companies collectively generate approximately €132 billion in turnover, account for 50% of French agricultural production outlets, and support 518,000 direct and indirect jobs.

The organization's core activities are advocacy, lobbying, and industry representation rather than commercial product development. Pact'Alim operates a Power Apps-based member portal ("Espace Adhérent") and produces a steady stream of guidance documents (decarbonation roadmaps, water sobriety plans, food waste diagnostics, professional risk prevention guides, 3R packaging roadmaps). It participates in major industry events (Salon International de l'Agriculture, SIAL Paris, Ecotrophelia) and engages directly with French ministries, the Autorité de la Concurrence, parliamentary committees, and EU institutions. Revenue is generated through membership dues from PME/ETI member companies and credits received from the AGFPN (Association Générale des Fabricants de Produits de Grande Consommation), with no commercial product sales or technology licensing. The organization is led by President Jérôme Foucault and CEO Karima Kaci (appointed March 2024, succeeding Christian Divin).

In 2024 the organization formally rebranded from Adepale to Pact'Alim to signal a renewed focus on food sovereignty, environmental sustainability, and fair commercial relations. The association has actively shaped and monitored implementation of the Egalim commercial negotiation laws, secured explicit inclusion of "agro-alimentaire" in the ministerial portfolio, and signed an unprecedented mutual commitments charter for the 2025-2026 commercial negotiation cycle to protect PME/ETI interests vis-à-vis large retailers.

Name

Adepale

Legal name

Adepale (Association des PME et ETI françaises de l'alimentation)

Website

https://adepale.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Adepale (Pact'Alim) is a French non-profit trade association founded in 1987 that represents approximately 3,000 food-sector PME and ETI companies, collectively generating €132 billion in turnover and 518,000 jobs, through advocacy, lobbying, and industry guidance services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership dues and industry levies: Pact'Alim operates as a trade association funded through membership contributions from PME and ETI companies in the French food sector, as well as credits received from AGFPN (Association Générale des Fabricants de Produits de Grande Consommation) as referenced in the organization's annual reports.

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Adepale, now operating as Pact'Alim, is a French professional trade association representing approximately 3,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (PME) and mid-tier companies (ETI) in the food processing sector. The organization provides collective advocacy, lobbying, commercial negotiation support, sustainability guidance, and industry representation to member companies operating in fresh deli, preserved/frozen/dehydrated foods, dried legumes, rice, and fresh ready-to-use vegetables sectors.

Product overview

Adepale (now rebranded as Pact'Alim) is a French industry association representing 3,000 PME and ETI (small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-tier companies) in the food sector. The organization does not offer commercial technology products; rather, it provides advocacy, representation, and support services to its member companies. Its activities include lobbying for favorable commercial regulations, publishing industry guides and reports (such as decarbonation guides, waste reduction diagnostics, professional risk prevention guides), organizing events like the Salon International de l'Agriculture, facilitating partnerships with distributors like Metro France, and supporting initiatives such as Ecotrophelia student innovation competitions. The association serves as the collective voice for French food SMEs and mid-tier companies on matters including food sovereignty, commercial negotiations, environmental sustainability, and workforce development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Industry Membership (Adhésion Pact'Alim) Trade association membership for French small and medium-sized enterprises (PME) and intermediate-sized enterprises (ETI) operating in food processing sectors including fresh deli, preserved/frozen/dehydrated foods, dried legumes, rice, and fresh ready-to-use vegetables. Members gain access to collective advocacy, commercial negotiation support, and representation before government and regulatory bodies.
• Industry Advocacy and Commercial Negotiation Representation Collective lobbying and representation services on behalf of member companies before government ministries, regulatory bodies such as Autorité de la Concurrence, parliamentary committees, and EU institutions. Includes monitoring and advocating for application of Egalim commercial negotiation laws.
• Sustainability Transition Guides and Publications Thematic publications and industry guides covering decarbonation roadmaps, water sobriety plans, food waste diagnostics, professional risk prevention, and 3R packaging roadmaps. Developed in collaboration with technical partners such as CTCPA to support member companies in meeting regulatory sustainability and waste reduction objectives.
• Espace Adhérent (Member Portal) Online member portal accessible via Power Apps Portal where member companies can access exclusive resources, documents, sector information, and member-only content.

Quantifiable outcome

• Pact'Alim's advocacy contributed to the explicit inclusion of 'agro-alimentaire' in the ministerial portfolio of Annie Genevard, Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and the Sea.
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

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.

• Metro FrancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Metro France and Pact'Alim signed a partnership to strengthen the position of PME and ETI food companies in the commercial catering (restauration commerciale) sector. The partnership aims to increase market access for small food producers in the catering channel.
• FIAC (Fédération des Industries d'Aliments Conservés)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPact'Alim and the FIAC (Federation of Preserved Food Industries) are partners in the Ecotrophelia student food innovation competition, now in its 25th edition. They also collaborate on industry codes of practice, sector guides, and the recently merged EGS-FIAC organization.
• SIAL PariscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPact'Alim is a partner of SIAL 2024 Paris, the world's largest food innovation exhibition marking its 60th anniversary. The partnership provides visibility for Pact'Alim and its member companies at the international level.
• FNLS (Fédération Nationale des Légumes Secs)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe FNLS is a sector federation representing the main French actors in the dried legumes sector, from collection to processing and commercialization. FNLS operates as a constituent union within the Pact'Alim structure.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• BusinessEurope: BusinessEurope is the leading pan-European business federation representing industry and services broadly. It is comparable as a trade-association peer with formal engagement with EU institutions, paralleling Pact'Alim's national-level advocacy with a broader multi-sector mandate.

Direct peers

• CGAD (Confédération Générale de l'Alimentation en Détail): CGAD is the French confederation representing food retail and artisanal food businesses. It is a direct peer in that it advocates for food-sector commercial interests and engages with the same government ministries and parliamentary bodies as Pact'Alim.
• Coop de France: Coop de France is the federation of French agricultural cooperatives. It is a direct peer because it represents a parallel constituency of French food-sector organizations and engages in similar advocacy on commercial negotiations, sustainability, and food sovereignty.
• FNSEA (Fédération Nationale des Syndicats d'Exploitants Agricoles): FNSEA is France's largest farmers' union and a key upstream counterpart to Pact'Alim. It is a direct peer in that it engages in similar lobbying on French agricultural and food policy, and Pact'Alim's stated mission explicitly references partnership with the agricultural sector.
• ANIA (Association Nationale des Industries Alimentaires): ANIA is the French national federation representing food industry companies, including many large multinationals. It is a direct peer as both organizations advocate for French food-sector companies in regulatory and commercial matters, with overlapping membership and policy positions on Egalim and food sovereignty.
• FoodDrinkEurope: FoodDrinkEurope is the umbrella organization of the European food and drink industry. It is a direct peer at the EU level, engaging in the same regulatory and commercial advocacy activities that Pact'Alim pursues in France, particularly on EU policies affecting food manufacturers.
• FICT (Fédération des Industriels Charcutiers, Traiteurs, Transformateurs de Viandes): FICT represents French deli, prepared-meat, and traiteur-frais processors — directly overlapping with Pact'Alim's 'traiteur frais' sector. It is a direct peer given shared constituency, overlapping representation of the same SMEs, and parallel advocacy on Egalim and food-safety regulation.

Regional players

• FranceAgriMer: FranceAgriMer is the French public agency for agricultural and seafood sectors. While not a private trade association, it is comparable as a domestic stakeholder operating in the same regulatory space, with parallel missions around sector data, transition support, and policy implementation for French food producers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/pactalim
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ass-adepale

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 Adepale