Société Laitière de Laqueuille

What Société Laitière de Laqueuille does

Société Laitière de Laqueuille is a French agricultural cooperative (Société d'Intérêt Collectif Agricole, or SICA) producing traditional blue/veined and soft cheeses from the Auvergne region. Founded in 1949 by Antoine Sarliève and headquartered at Laqueuille-Gare, Saint-Julien-Puy-Lavèze, at 950m altitude within the protected AOP zones for Bleu d'Auvergne and Fourme d'Ambert, the company operates as the 2nd largest manufacturer of Fourme d'Ambert and the 3rd largest of Bleu d'Auvergne in France. In 2024, approximately 110 collaborators manufactured and commercialized nearly 3,700 tonnes of cheese for turnover of approximately €30 million.

The company's product portfolio spans 16 cheese varieties organized into four distinct ranges: a pasteurized milk range (~15 SKUs including the heritage Bleu de Laqueuille, AOP Bleu d'Auvergne, and AOP Fourme d'Ambert), a raw milk (lait cru) range produced since 2008 in a dedicated separate workshop and cave (Caves d'Ordanche), a certified organic range of 6 SKUs (Bio CEE / Bio AB), and a portion/retail range offering barquette libre-service (60-day shelf life) and frais-emballé formats. Production relies on traditional French cheesemaking techniques — milk reception, pasteurization or raw handling, skimming, maturation and inoculation, renneting, cutting, moulding, salting, needle piercing for blue mold aeration, and dual-temperature cave aging (warm at 7-8°C followed by cold at 0-4°C). The company is the sole perpetuator of the historic Bleu de Laqueuille recipe dating to 1854. SICA membership with majority farmer ownership anchors upstream milk supply to local mountain farms in the Parc Régional des Volcans d'Auvergne.

Revenue is generated almost entirely through one-time cheese product sales routed across three principal channels: (1) a network of specialized wholesale distributors covering all of France, serving restaurants, caterers, institutions, and independent artisan retailers; (2) presence in major French retail chains (GMS) in both cut-to-order and self-service sections; and (3) direct-to-consumer sales via the on-site factory boutique (Monday–Saturday) and the e-commerce site fromagesdelamemee.fr with cold-chain delivery. No public pricing is disclosed; B2B pricing is negotiated via distributor partners. The company is commercially autonomous within the SODIAAL cooperative group, which holds a minority stake, while Denis Aubert serves as Président of the SICA.

Name

Société Laitière de Laqueuille

Legal name

Société Laitière de Laqueuille

Website

https://fromages-laqueuille.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Société Laitière de Laqueuille is a French SICA cooperative founded in 1949 that produces traditional Auvergne blue and soft cheeses, operating as the 2nd largest Fourme d'Ambert and 3rd largest Bleu d'Auvergne manufacturer in France, serving GMS, HoReCa, and consumers via wholesale, factory boutique, and e-commerce channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisanal Blue Cheese Manufacturing

NAICS

Cheese Manufacturing (311513), Dairy Product Manufacturing (3115)

SIC

Dairy Products (2020), Food And Kindred Products (2000), Wholesale-Groceries, General Line (5141)

akta.pro primary industry

Ripened Natural Cheese Manufacturing (Semi-Soft, Hard & Blue) (AFAHABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cheese (Natural & Processed) (CRADACAC), Cheese Packaging & Portioning (Retail Packs, Snack Packs, Singles) (AFAHABAI), Cheese Wholesale (AFAIAEAC)

Keywords

• Blue cheese production
• AOP cheese manufacturing
• Raw milk cheese aging
• Organic dairy products
• Portion-packaged cheeses

Headquarters

HQ city

Laqueuille-Gare, Saint-Julien Puy Lavèze

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Cheese product sales: The company generates revenue primarily through the manufacture and sale of cheese products, including AOP-certified cheeses (Bleu d'Auvergne, Fourme d'Ambert), specialty blue cheeses, raw milk cheeses, organic cheeses, and portion-packaged products. Sales are made through three main routes: direct factory boutique, wholesale/distributor network covering France, and large-scale retail (GMS).

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Société Laitière de Laqueuille manufactures and commercializes approximately 3,700 tonnes of blue/veined and soft mountain cheeses per year, organized into four ranges: (1) pasteurized milk cheeses, (2) raw milk cheeses aged in dedicated Caves d'Ordanche, (3) certified organic (Bio CEE / Bio AB) cheeses, and (4) pre-portioned barquette and frais-emballé retail formats. Its flagship La Mémée line includes signature Bleu de Laqueuille, AOP Bleu d'Auvergne, AOP Fourme d'Ambert, Gaperon, Bleu de Brebis, Bleu des Causses, and Tome varieties. Sales are made via wholesale distributors, GMS retail chains, an on-site boutique, and the fromagesdelamemee.fr e-commerce site.

Product overview

Société Laitière de Laqueuille is a dairy company specializing in blue and soft cheeses from the Auvergne region of France. The company operates as a multi-product portfolio organized into four distinct ranges: (1) Pasteurized Milk Range (approximately 15 products) featuring their signature Bleu de Laqueuille, AOP Bleu d'Auvergne, and AOP Fourme d'Ambert; (2) Raw Milk Range (since 2008) offering exclusive raw milk versions of their AOP cheeses aged in dedicated caves; (3) Organic/Bio Range (6 products) certified Bio CEE and Bio AB including organic versions of Bleu d'Auvergne, Fourme d'Ambert, and Tome Bio; and (4) Portion/Retail Range offering pre-packaged portions in barquettes and frais-emballé formats. Their flagship La Mémée brand encompasses 8 exceptional cheeses, all made with mountain milk. The company is the 2nd largest manufacturer of Fourme d'Ambert and 3rd largest of Bleu d'Auvergne, producing approximately 3,700 tonnes annually.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• La Mémée: Primary commercial brand for cheeses including Bleu de Laqueuille, Fourme d'Ambert AOP, Bleu d'Auvergne AOP, Bleu de Brebis, Gaperon Tradition, Bleu des Causses AOP, and Tome des Neiges. The La Mémée range consists of 8 exceptional cheeses all made with mountain milk.

Products and services

• Bleu de Laqueuille

Quantifiable outcome

• 2nd largest manufacturer of Fourme d'Ambert AOP in France
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• SODIAAL (cooperative group)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSODIAAL is a cooperative dairy group that holds a minority stake in Société Laitière de Laqueuille. While technically affiliated with SODIAAL, the company operates with full technical, administrative, accounting, and commercial autonomy, with a board of directors primarily composed of local producer-shareholders.
• Network of specialized wholesale distributors (France)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorA network of specialized wholesale partners covers all of France, distributing La Mémée cheeses to professionals including restaurants, caterers, institutions, and independent artisan retailers. The company directs professionals to contact them to identify the nearest distributor.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Fromageries Papillon: Independent French AOP cheese producer based in Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, specializing in AOP blue cheeses (Roquefort, Bleu des Causses). Directly comparable as a French specialist AOP blue cheese manufacturer with similar craft heritage and a comparable product range including Bleu des Causses.
• Fromageries Marcel Petite: French affineur (cheese ager) specializing in Comté and other AOP mountain cheeses. Comparable as a French specialty AOP cheese specialist with a regionally-rooted production model, multi-generational know-how, and significant B2B foodservice and retail reach.
• Isigny Sainte-Mère: French dairy cooperative and AOP cheese producer (Camembert, Pont-l'Évêque, butter). Comparable as a French cooperative-structured specialty AOP cheese maker with a similar farmer-ownership model, premium positioning, and export footprint.
• Fromagerie Guilloteau: French specialty cheese producer famous for Pavé d'Affinois and Pavé Bleu. Comparable as an independent French specialty cheese maker with strong retail brand recognition, blue cheese exposure, and similar GMS and specialty distribution.

Broad incumbents

• Bel Group: Large French cheese and dairy group (Laughing Cow, Babybel, Kiri). Comparable as a French incumbent with extensive GMS distribution relationships and a diversified cheese portfolio, including brands competing for shelf space in the blue and soft cheese segments.
• Lactalis: World's largest dairy group and a major French cheese manufacturer with a broad portfolio including Président and Galbani. Comparable as a dominant French cheese incumbent with deep GMS penetration and portfolio breadth, setting the competitive baseline for retail buyers.
• SODIAAL: French dairy cooperative group and minority shareholder of the company. SODIAAL is a major French dairy player with significant AOP cheese production activities, making it both a parent affiliate and a broad competitor leveraging scale across multiple cheese categories.
• Savencia Fromage & Dairy: Major French specialty cheese group producing blue cheese brands such as Saint Agur and Bresse Bleu. Comparable as a broad French cheese manufacturer with strong brand portfolios spanning blue and soft cheeses, supplying both retail and foodservice at national and international scale.

Emerging players

• Fromagerie de la Brique: Independent French cheese producer with artisanal positioning across AOP and specialty cheeses. Comparable as a similarly sized French specialty cheese maker competing in the same boutique and GMS channels with a heritage/craft-driven value proposition.

Others

• Fromageries Bel (Saint Agur / Bresse Bleu brand portfolio): Marketing and distribution arm of Bel Group's blue cheese brands (Saint Agur, Bresse Bleu). Comparable as a competing branded blue cheese proposition in French GMS that directly competes for the same shelf space and consumer occasions as La Mémée's blue cheese range.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/lasocietelaitieredelaqueuille
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/la-soci%C3%A9t%C3%A9-laiti%C3%A8re-de-laqueuille

Compliance6 records

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 Société Laitière de Laqueuille