APILAB

What APILAB does

APILAB, a commercial brand of APINOV SAS headquartered in Lagord near La Rochelle, France, operates a bee-based environmental biosurveillance service for enterprises and local authorities. The company installs honeybee hives and insect hotels on client sites and uses the foraging bees as bio-indicators that collect and bio-accumulate pollutants (trace metals, PAHs, PFAS, dioxins, pesticides, VOCs, microplastics) and biodiversity signals across a roughly 3 km radius. Samples are processed in laboratory settings using European INSIGNIA-standard non-lethal protocols and interpreted under French AFNOR norm X43-910, with analytical techniques spanning environmental DNA metabarcoding, protein oxidation biomarker measurement, microbial balance profiling, and connected hive telemetry via the Beeguard hardware partnership. Deliverables include quarterly PDF synthesis reports, annual comprehensive reports, and access to the ARTEMIS data visualization platform (Basic and Advanced tiers).

The business model combines subscription-based annual biosurveillance programs (custom-quoted, typically including 2-4 hives per site, field sampling visits, laboratory analysis, and platform access) with one-off environmental studies, hardware-enabled connected hive subscriptions, and ancillary professional services such as beekeeping training and branded honey distributions. APILAB sells directly to French enterprises and collectivités through a consultative sales motion, and extends its reach internationally through a network of local partners operating in 15+ countries across Europe, the Americas, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and the Indian Ocean. The customer base spans regulated industries (oil and gas, chemicals, water utilities, waste management), infrastructure operators (ports, airports, construction), consumer-facing brands (Perrier/Nestlé, Crédit Agricole), and public sector bodies (CNES, Ville de Monaco), with named engagements at Total Energies, BASF, Vinci Immobilier, Veolia, Air Transat, and others. The company is privately held with no disclosed external funding and relies on scientific partnerships with CNRS, INRAE, Oniris, ASNR, AFNOR, and La Rochelle Université for research validation and regulatory credibility.

Name

APILAB

Legal name

APINOV SAS

Website

https://apilab.fr

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

APILAB (brand of APINOV SAS) provides bee-based environmental biosurveillance to enterprises and local authorities, using honeybee colonies to monitor biodiversity, air quality, and bee health with AFNOR/INSIGNIA-compliant methods and the ARTEMIS data platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Monitoring Services

NAICS

Apiculture (11291), Apiculture (112910)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Agricultural Services (700), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Apiary Management Services (Contract Beekeeping, Hive Maintenance) (AFAEAHAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Beekeeping Training, Education & Advisory Services (AFAEAHAO), Honey Production & Extraction (AFAEAHAA)

Keywords

• Bee biosurveillance services
• Environmental monitoring solutions
• Biodiversity assessment services
• Air quality monitoring
• Bee health assessment

Headquarters

HQ city

Lagord

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Biosurveillance program subscriptions: Apilab provides ongoing biosurveillance programs (typically 1-year) with quarterly PDF synthesis reports and annual comprehensive reports. Programs include hive installation, field technician sampling visits, laboratory analysis, and data visualization platform access (ARTEMIS). Pricing is custom/quoted per client.
2. One-time environmental study and assessment fees: Clients commission specific studies such as biodiversity studies, regulated/normed environmental studies, pesticide searches, or particular matter pollution studies. These may be standalone projects or embedded within recurring programs.
3. Connected hive equipment and maintenance: Connected hives require hardware (bee counters, weight sensors, weather stations) managed in partnership with Beeguard. The telemetry service provides real-time monitoring data, representing a hardware-plus-software recurring revenue component.
4. Professional services, training, and animations: Apilab offers beekeeping training (in partnership with APINOV), hive-opening workshops with experts, honey extraction and bottling animations, and result presentation workshops. Customized honey pots with client branding are also sold. These are supplementary, per-engagement revenue streams.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

APILAB delivers bee-based environmental biosurveillance services in which honeybee colonies are installed on client sites to collect and bio-accumulate environmental substances (air, soil, water, pollen) within a 3 km foraging radius. Field technicians sample hives, laboratories perform eDNA metabarcoding and pollutant/biomarker analyses, and results are delivered as quarterly and annual reports plus dashboard access via the ARTEMIS platform. The offering covers biodiversity assessment, regulated air quality monitoring, bee health diagnostics, and connected hive telemetry, sold as recurring annual programs or one-off studies to enterprises and public authorities.

Product overview

APILAB is a bee-based biosurveillance service provider offering environmental monitoring solutions centered on honeybee colonies. The product portfolio consists of four core service offerings: Étude de la biodiversité (Biodiversity Study), Qualité de l'air (Air Quality Study), Santé des abeilles (Bee Health), and Ruches connectées (Connected Hives). These services are unified through the ARTEMIS data visualization platform, available in Basic and Avancé (Advanced) subscription tiers, which consolidates all monitoring data into an interactive dashboard. The connected hives service integrates Beeguard sensor technology for real-time monitoring. APILAB utilizes European INSIGNIA standard sampling protocols and interprets results according to AFNOR X43-910 standards. Deliverables include quarterly PDF syntheses, annual reports, and optional motion design videos for stakeholder communication.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ARTEMIS: Data visualization platform for environmental monitoring results from bee-based biosurveillance studies, available in Basic and Advanced tiers.

Products and services

• Étude de la biodiversité (Biodiversity Study) Evaluates floral diversity and pollinator diversity through environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis of honey, bee hotel tubes, and flower samples using metabarcoding PCR techniques; designed for enterprises and local authorities seeking biodiversity KPIs.
• Qualité de l'air (Air Quality Study) Monitors environmental pollutants including trace metals (ETM), combustion residues (PAH), PFAS, dioxins/furans, pesticides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and microplastics using the European INSIGNIA standard sampling protocol, interpreted via AFNOR X43-910.
• Santé des abeilles (Bee Health) Determines bee health status by detecting and quantifying protein damage caused by environmental stress, measuring protein oxidation levels and microbial balance; non-lethal sampling assesses environmental stress impact on colony health.
• Ruches connectées (Connected Hives) Provides real-time monitoring of bee colony activity through connected hive technology with entry/exit counters, weight sensors, and weather stations, generating alerts for abnormal mortality or colony activity; requires Beeguard hardware.
• ARTEMIS Platform (Data Visualization) Interactive dashboard platform for visualizing and exploring biosurveillance study results, including customizable reports, interactive maps, graphs, and data-driven recommendations for environmental decision-making; offered in Basic and Advanced subscription tiers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Provides millions of DNA readings for biodiversity assessment per year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• INSIGNIA-EUcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023INSIGNIA-EU is a pan-European citizen science project involving 11 organizations in 10 countries, developing a non-invasive, scientifically validated protocol for using bee colonies to detect pesticides, microplastics, heavy metals, and air pollutants. Apilab served as national coordinator for France in 2023 and now uses the INSIGNIA standard sampling supports.
• 1% for the PlanetminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Apilab has been a member of the 1% for the Planet collective since 2019, committing to donate 1% of APILAB brand revenue to environmental protection organizations. This partnership enhances Apilab's ESG credentials and environmental brand positioning.
• BeeguardcoreTechnology or IntegrationBeeguard provides the connected hive hardware technology (bee entry/exit counters, weight sensors, weather stations) used in Apilab's connected hive solutions. Their telemetry system enables continuous colony monitoring and automatic alerts. This partnership provides Apilab's real-time hive monitoring capabilities.
• CNRScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) is shown as a partner logo on Apilab's homepage, indicating a research collaboration in biosurveillance science, apiculture, or environmental monitoring.
• INRAEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE) appears as a partner logo, suggesting scientific collaboration on biosurveillance methodology and environmental research.
• OniriscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOniris (Veterinary school of Nantes) appears as a partner logo, indicating collaboration on animal health aspects of bee biosurveillance.
• ASNRcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Agence Nationale de Sécurité Nucléaire et de la Radioprotection (ASNR) appears as a partner logo, indicating collaboration on nuclear/radiological environmental safety aspects of monitoring.
• AFNORcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAFNOR (French Association for Standardization) appears as a partner logo, indicating collaboration on the application of AFNOR X43-910 standard for biosurveillance interpretation.
• La Rochelle UniversitécoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLa Rochelle University appears as a partner logo, indicating academic research collaboration on biosurveillance, environmental science, and apiology.
• UtopiominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUtopio is a local partner in Réunion that collaborated with Apilab and Crédit Agricole de La Réunion on a connected hive biosurveillance project.
• AlvéoleminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAlvéole is a North American partner (operating in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Canada) that deploys Apilab's bee biosurveillance services. They collaborated with Air Transat in Canada on a biodiversity study.
• APINOVcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAPINOV SAS is the parent company of Apilab. It provides apiculture training services (distance and practical) referenced by Apilab as part of its professional services offering, including the Apinov online beekeeping training platform.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Alvéole: Montreal-based company offering urban beekeeping and biodiversity services to enterprises across North America. Operates as APILAB's North American channel partner and deploys comparable hive-based monitoring and engagement programs for corporate clients.
• BeeOdiversity: Swiss company providing bee-based biodiversity assessments for corporates and public authorities using eDNA metabarcoding of pollen collected by honeybees. Most direct methodological peer to APILAB in Europe, with overlapping target customers and analytical approach.

Broad incumbents

• Bureau Veritas: Global testing, inspection, and certification (TIC) major offering environmental monitoring, compliance, and ESG assurance services. Competes indirectly with APILAB in industrial environmental monitoring RFPs but as part of a vastly broader services portfolio.
• SGS: Global testing, inspection, and certification company with a substantial environmental services division covering air, water, soil, and product compliance. Adjacent competitor for industrial site environmental monitoring contracts.
• Eurofins Scientific: World-leading environmental and life sciences testing laboratory network with deep coverage in pollutant analysis (PAH, PFAS, dioxins, microplastics). Competes for the analytical chemistry portion of APILAB's scope at industrial and regulatory clients.

Emerging players

• BeeHero: Israel/US-based precision beekeeping platform using in-hive sensors and data analytics for pollination and hive health. Overlaps with APILAB's Connected Hives / Beeguard offering but focuses on pollination ROI for agriculture rather than biosurveillance for industrial sites.
• Apitronic: French connected beekeeping hardware/software provider serving commercial beekeepers with hive monitoring, weight sensors, and apiary management tools. Adjacent technology overlap with APILAB's Beeguard-based Connected Hives offering.

Regional players

• Wildbiene + Partner: German consultancy specializing in biodiversity assessment, pollinator protection, and corporate sustainability programs. Comparable target audience (German-speaking enterprises) and similar biodiversity monitoring services, but primarily DACH-focused.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/apilab
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCa8XRJ2ZTOm5FQQM7iwZ8Ag
• Facebookfacebook.com/Apilab
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/apilabbiosurveillance

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 APILAB