Laiterie Gerentes

What Laiterie Gerentes does

Laiterie Gérentes (Société GERENTES SA) is a privately-held, family-owned French dairy producer founded in the 1950s and headquartered in Araules, Haute-Loire, in the Monts Yssingelais region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The company manufactures a broad range of traditional mountain dairy products — including cheeses (blue, tomme, pressed, fresh, aged lactique), yogurts (natural and flavored), butter (standard and BIO), thick mountain cream, and milk — sourced from cow, goat, and sheep milk collected in Haute-Loire and Haute Ardèche. Production relies on traditional artisanal methods: copper-vat cheese making, hand-rubbed rinds, natural aging in temperate caves, and recipes without artificial additives, preservatives, or stabilizers. A second fromagerie at Coucouron in Haute Ardèche produces the Abbaye de Mazan cheese. The company's product portfolio spans more than 30 SKUs and has been validated by 11 consecutive years of medals at the Concours Général Agricole de Paris (2013–2023) and additional recognition at the 2025 Concours de Lyon.

The company serves a diversified customer base through three primary channels: large retail chains (grande distribution), specialty food stores (magasins spécialisés), and direct sales from its own establishments. A dedicated Espace Pro B2B portal addresses cheese shops, restaurants, and food service professionals. Marketing is conducted primarily through the company website and organic social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube), with support from the Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes for manufacturing workshop investment. The registered capital is €500,000, the director of publication is M Pierre Gérentes, and there is no indication of private equity, venture capital, or institutional ownership. Revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Laiterie Gérentes has signaled measured expansion through product line extensions (a coconut yogurt launched December 2024, an organic BIO butter introduced in 2023), formalization of RSE/CSR commitments in February 2024, and sustained award recognition. The business operates on a traditional, low-technology base with no disclosed AI/ML capabilities, no digital products or apps, and no third-party platform integrations. The commercial model is therefore best characterized as a stable, heritage-led regional dairy enterprise with a diversified artisanal portfolio rather than a technology-enabled growth business.

Name

Laiterie Gerentes

Legal name

Société GERENTES SA

Website

https://laiterie-gerentes.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Laiterie Gérentes is a family-owned French mountain dairy producer in Haute-Loire manufacturing traditional cheeses, yogurts, butter, cream, and milk from cow, goat, and sheep milk, sold through regional supermarkets, specialty stores, direct sales, and B2B food service channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisanal Dairy Products

NAICS

Dairy Product (except Frozen) Manufacturing (31151)

SIC

Dairy Products (2020)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYCRADACAB

Yogurt & Cultured Dairy (Yogurt, Kefir, Sour Cream, Cottage Cheese)

Consumer Products & Retail/Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) Manufacturing & Brands/Dairy & Refrigerated Foods

Keywords

• Artisanal dairy products
• Mountain cheese
• AOP cheeses
• Mountain milk yogurt
• Farm butter cream

Headquarters

HQ city

Coucouron

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Dairy product sales: Sale of mountain dairy products including cheese, yogurt, butter, cream, milk, and fresh cheese through retail and direct channels

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Laiterie Gerentes is an artisanal French dairy manufacturer that produces and sells traditional mountain dairy products including AOP-certified cheeses (Tome, Bleu d'Auvergne, Fourme d'Ambert, Cantal, Saint-Nectaire, Emmental, Comté, Raclette), mountain milk yogurts (plain and flavored with various fruit jams), butter, cream, and milk. The products are made from milk sourced from mountain farms in the Haut-Lignon region and sold under the Laiterie Gerentes brand to consumers through retail and to food service professionals via a dedicated professional channel.

Product overview

Laiterie Gérentes is a traditional French dairy company located in the Monts Yssingelais region of Haute Ardèche, operating for over 70 years. The company produces a comprehensive range of mountain dairy products organized around five product families: (1) Les Fromages (cheeses) including blue cheeses (Bleu du Lizieux, Fourme de Montagne, Bleu de chèvre, Bleu de brebis, L'Yssinbleu Royal), aged séchons (brebis, vache, chèvre), tommes (Tomme de Montagne, Tomme de chèvre, Tomme bleutée, Fromage de Montagne), soft cheeses (Rogeret, Brique du Velay, Fondant de brebis), pressed cheeses (Saint Paulin, Abbaye de Mazan), and fresh cheeses; (2) Les Yaourts (yogurts) including natural mountain yogurt and flavored yogurts with various jams (Mangue Passion, Abricot, Fraise, Framboise, Myrtilles, Citron, Crème de Marron, Noix de Coco) and specialty yogurts (lait de Brebis, lait de chèvre); (3) Les Beurres (butters) including Beurre des Monts Yssingelais, Beurre des sommets, and Beurre BIO; (4) Les Crèmes (creams) including Crème fraîche épaisse and Crème liquide; (5) Plateaux de fromages (cheese boards) made to order. All products are made from mountain milk sourced from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a focus on natural, traditional recipes without artificial additives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tome de montagne Traditional Toma-style cheese produced by Laiterie Gerentes from mountain milk, sold to consumers and food service professionals.
• Bleu d'Auvergne AOP AOP-certified blue cheese from the Auvergne region, produced and sold by Laiterie Gerentes.
• Fourme d'Ambert AOP AOP-certified Fourme d'Ambert cheese, a traditional blue-veined cheese from the Auvergne region, sold by Laiterie Gerentes.
• Cantal AOP AOP-certified Cantal cheese, a traditional pressed cheese from the Auvergne region, sold by Laiterie Gerentes.
• Saint-Nectaire AOP AOP-certified Saint-Nectaire cheese, a traditional soft cheese from the Auvergne region, sold by Laiterie Gerentes.
• Emmental de montagne Emmental cheese produced from mountain milk by Laiterie Gerentes.
• Comté AOP AOP-certified Comté cheese sold by Laiterie Gerentes as part of its cheese portfolio.
• Raclette de montagne Raclette cheese produced from mountain milk by Laiterie Gerentes.
• Yaourt au lait de montagne (gamme Yaourts) Range of artisanal yogurts made from mountain milk, available in plain and fruit-jam varieties, sold by Laiterie Gerentes to consumers and food service.
• Beurre de montagne Butter made from mountain cream by Laiterie Gerentes, sold to consumers and food service professionals.
• Crème de montagne Cream produced from mountain milk by Laiterie Gerentes, sold to consumers and food service professionals.
• Lait de montagne Mountain milk sold by Laiterie Gerentes as part of its core dairy product range.

Quantifiable outcome

• 11 consecutive years of medals at the Concours Général Agricole de Paris
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 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

One partnership is on record.

• Région Auvergne-Rhône-AlpesminorOthersRegional government providing support for investment in manufacturing workshops. The company acknowledges support from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region for their production facility investments.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Danone: Global French dairy and plant-based leader with strong yogurt heritage (Danone, Danio, Activia). Directly comparable on the yogurt line, including premium and clean-label offerings such as brassé-style yogurts.
• Fromagerie Bel: French cheese specialist behind Laughing Cow, Babybel, Kiri, and Leerdammer. Comparable on cheese manufacturing, processing of milk into branded cheese SKUs, and serving retail and B2B foodservice channels in France and beyond.
• Yoplait: Major French yogurt brand (Yop, Petits Filous, Panier de Yoplait). Direct comparator on the yogurt category — particularly brassé and fruit-on-bottom styles — with national distribution that contrasts with Gérentes' regional artisanal positioning.
• Emmi Group: Swiss dairy processor with strong premium and specialty cheese, yogurt, and butter lines (including Alpine milk positioning). Comparable on mountain-terroir dairy positioning and multi-species cheese/yogurt offerings.
• Müller Dairy: European dairy group strong in yogurt and dairy desserts (Müller Corner, Müller Light). Comparable on cultured and fruit-prepared dairy desserts — overlapping with Gérentes' jam-on-yogurt brassé range.
• Savencia Fromage & Dairy: French cheese and specialty dairy group (Saint Agur, Caprice des Dieux, Elle & Vire). Comparable because of its focus on specialty and traditional French cheeses, including blue and aged varieties that overlap with Gérentes' mountain cheese portfolio.
• Arla Foods: European dairy cooperative with branded butter, cheese, and yogurt portfolios (Lurpak, Castello, Arla). Comparable on full dairy range and on premium sub-brands (e.g., Castello blue cheeses) that overlap with Gérentes' blue cheese line.
• Lactalis: World's largest dairy group and French incumbent (Président, Galbani, Bridel). Operates broadly across cheese, butter, cream, and milk — directly overlapping Laiterie Gérentes' product categories but at industrial scale and with national/international distribution.

Emerging players

• Stonyfield Farm: US organic yogurt brand owned by Lactalis, focused on clean-label, organic dairy. Comparable as a smaller, brand-led dairy player leveraging provenance and ingredient quality as a premium differentiator versus commodity yogurt.
• Organic Valley: US farmer-owned organic dairy cooperative focused on pasture-raised, additive-free milk, butter, and cheese. Comparable as a values-led, mission-driven dairy brand using clean-label and origin stories to compete against industrial dairy — a positioning parallel to Gérentes' mountain-milk narrative.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCD-iH5nvVTicztjM5_tR5Kw
• Facebookfacebook.com/laiteriegerentes
• Instagraminstagram.com/laiteriegerentes

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 Laiterie Gerentes