Chardon Bleu
Chardon Bleu is a French artisanal bakery and patisserie founded in 1989 in Grenoble, operating 6 boutiques across the Grenoble metro from a 500m² in-house facility. It serves retail consumers with breads, pastries, chocolates, and ice cream, plus B2B catering.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1989
- HeadquartersGrenoble, France
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Chardon Bleu does
Chardon Bleu is a privately held French artisanal patisserie, boulangerie, chocolatier, glacier, and traiteur founded in 1989 and headquartered in Grenoble. The company operates six boutique storefronts across the Grenoble metropolitan area (three in Grenoble city center, plus Biviers, Le Touvet, and Le Versoud), and serves both individual consumers seeking daily breakfast pastries, breads, viennoiseries, chocolates, macarons, and ice creams, and business clients requiring corporate catering and custom specialty bread supply for restaurants.
All products are manufactured in-house daily at a 500 m² centralized production facility in central Grenoble, equipped with modern equipment and operating under strict hygiene standards. The company emphasizes artisanal savoir-faire with officially registered bread recipes (Recettes de pains déposées), exclusive use of Label Rouge flour from Trièves, and reliance on local suppliers. Revenue is generated through three primary streams: walk-in retail across the boutique network, corporate catering and bespoke event services (cocktail pieces, meal tray delivery, reception organization), and custom bread creation delivered to restaurants. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; product catalogs are available as downloadable PDFs and ordering requires direct inquiry, reflecting a traditional relationship-driven commercial model rather than an e-commerce-first approach.
Chardon Bleu firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Chardon Bleu
- Legal name
- Chardon Bleu
- Website
- https://auchardonbleu.fr
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1989
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Chardon Bleu is a French artisanal bakery and patisserie founded in 1989 in Grenoble, operating 6 boutiques across the Grenoble metro from a 500m² in-house facility. It serves retail consumers with breads, pastries, chocolates, and ice cream, plus B2B catering.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Chardon Bleu industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Artisanal Bakery and Patisserie
- NAICS
- Retail Bakeries (311811), Baked Goods Retailers (445291)
- SIC
- Bakery Products (2050)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Retail Bakeries (Bread & Daily Bakery) (THAFAFAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Bread & Pastry Specialty Stores (CRAHAGAC), Wholesale / Commercial Bakeries (B2B Supply) (THAFAFAF)
Keywords
Where Chardon Bleu is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Grenoble
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices5 records
Markets served
Chardon Bleu business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Retail Bakery and Patisserie Sales: Direct retail sales of artisanal breads, pastries, chocolates, ice cream, macarons, and regional products across 6 boutique locations. Serves customers throughout the day from breakfast through afternoon.
- Corporate Catering and Events: Professional catering services including cocktail pieces, meal trays, and custom event catering for business functions. Includes delivery services and bespoke menu creation.
- Custom Bread for Restaurants: Creation and delivery of custom specialty breads for restaurants, meeting their taste and quality requirements.
- Gift Products: Sale of gift products including chocolates, macarons, candies, and regional specialty products for all occasions.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels1 record
Chardon Bleu product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Chardon Bleu manufactures and retails a comprehensive range of artisanal bakery, patisserie, chocolate, and ice cream products from its 500 m² manufacture in Grenoble, selling them through six boutique locations across the Grenoble metropolitan area. The company also provides professional corporate catering services (cocktail pieces, meal tray delivery, bespoke event receptions) and creates custom specialty breads for restaurants, delivering to local businesses.
Product overview
Chardon Bleu is a traditional artisan patisserie operating as a single unified business with multiple boutique locations. The company offers a comprehensive range of freshly manufactured products including pastries, chocolates, breads, viennoiseries, macarons, and ice creams, all produced in-house at their 500 m² Grenoble manufacture. In addition to retail sales across six boutiques in the Grenoble region, Chardon Bleu provides professional catering services including cocktail pieces, meal tray delivery, custom event catering, and specialty bread for restaurants. Products are categorized into core artisan products (pastries, chocolates, breads, ice creams), catering services (corporate meals, events, receptions), B2B offerings (custom restaurant breads), and gift products. All offerings are available through downloadable product catalogs and six physical boutique locations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Fine pastries (Pâtisseries fines)
- Chocolates (Chocolats)
- High-quality breads (Pains de haute qualité)
- Viennoiseries
- Macarons
- Ice creams (Glaces)
- Entremets and tarts (Entremets et tartes)
- Cocktail pieces and trays (Pièces cocktails et plateaux)
- Meal tray delivery for businesses (Plateaux-repas livraison entreprises)
- Full-service catering and bespoke events (Service traiteur et réceptions sur mesure)
- Custom specialty bread for restaurants (Pains spéciaux sur-mesure restaurants)
Quantifiable outcome
- 30+ years of artisanal expertise and market presence
Companies that use Chardon Bleu
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Chardon Bleu technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Chardon Bleu partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Chardon Bleu competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Fossier: Historic French patisserie (notably Reims-based) with retail boutiques and a strong gifting catalog of biscuits and confectionery — comparable multi-product retail and gifting model, but operating in a different French region than Chardon Bleu.
Broad incumbents
- Le Pain Quotidien: International bakery/café chain centered on artisanal organic breads, viennoiseries, pastries, and light meals served in retail locations — comparable in retail bakery/café format but at significantly larger scale than Chardon Bleu.
- Brioche Dorée: Large French bakery/café chain offering bread, viennoiseries, pastries, sandwiches, and meal solutions across many locations — competes with Chardon Bleu in the everyday bakery/lunch consumer occasion but at a more mass-market positioning.
- Paul: Iconic French bakery/patisserie chain with hundreds of retail locations worldwide offering bread, viennoiseries, pastries, sandwiches, and catering — a broad incumbent that competes for the same consumer breakfast and gifting occasions as Chardon Bleu.
Direct peers
- Ladurée: French luxury patisserie and macaron house with boutiques internationally, overlapping with Chardon Bleu's pastry, macaron, and gift categories; comparable in-house production approach and premium positioning.
- La Maison du Chocolat: Premium French chocolatier with boutiques focused on handmade chocolates, macarons, and gifting, directly comparable to Chardon Bleu's chocolate and macaron gift offerings and corporate gifting channels.
- Pierre Hermé Paris: Renowned French patissier/chocolatier with boutiques offering pastries, macarons, chocolates, and ice cream under a single artisanal brand, closely mirroring Chardon Bleu's multi-category retail offering and gifting focus.
- Dalloyau: Historic Parisian patisserie, traiteur, and chocolatier with multiple retail locations serving both individual consumers and corporate/B2B clients — overlapping with Chardon Bleu across pastries, chocolates, and event catering.
- Maison Kayser: French artisan boulanger and patissier with multi-location retail boutiques emphasizing in-house production, traditional techniques, and a wide bread/pastry range — the closest analogue to Chardon Bleu's model, but operating at national scale.
- Bernachon: Lyonnais artisanal chocolate and patisserie house producing in-house from cocoa bean to finished confection, with a regional retail model highly analogous to Chardon Bleu's vertically integrated Grenoble operation.
Market position
Strengths1 record
Weaknesses2 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Chardon Bleu social profiles
Digital presenceChardon Bleu financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Chardon Bleu leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Chardon Bleu funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Chardon Bleu M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Chardon Bleu
What does Chardon Bleu do?
Chardon Bleu manufactures and retails a comprehensive range of artisanal bakery, patisserie, chocolate, and ice cream products from its 500 m² manufacture in Grenoble, selling them through six boutique locations across the Grenoble metropolitan area. The company also provides professional corporate catering services (cocktail pieces, meal tray delivery, bespoke event receptions) and creates custom specialty breads for restaurants, delivering to local businesses.
Is Chardon Bleu a public or private company?
Chardon Bleu is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Chardon Bleu founded?
Chardon Bleu was founded in 1989. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Chardon Bleu based?
Chardon Bleu is headquartered in Grenoble, France, in the Europe region.
How does Chardon Bleu make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Retail Bakery and Patisserie Sales are the primary driver. The others are corporate Catering and Events, custom Bread for Restaurants and gift Products.
Who are Chardon Bleu's main competitors?
Fossier is listed as a regional player. Broad incumbents are Le Pain Quotidien, Brioche Dorée and Paul. Direct peers are Ladurée, La Maison du Chocolat, Pierre Hermé Paris, Dalloyau, Maison Kayser and Bernachon.
Does Chardon Bleu have an API?
No public API is recorded for Chardon Bleu.
What industry is Chardon Bleu in?
Chardon Bleu's product category is Artisanal Bakery and Patisserie. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFAFAA, Retail Bakeries (Bread & Daily Bakery), with a secondary code of CRAHAGAC, Bread & Pastry Specialty Stores. Its NAICS code is 311811 and its SIC code is 2050.