Salon du Fromage Hisada

What Salon du Fromage Hisada does

Salon du Fromage Hisada (legal entity: Fromagerie Hisada / Hisada France) is a specialty French-Japanese cheese retail and affineur (cheese aging) business operating from a single boutique at 47 rue de Richelieu in Paris's 1st arrondissement. The company is the French arm of the Japan-based Hisada Group, whose parent Hisada Co., Ltd. (株式会社久田) operates the 21-store Cheese Kingdom (チーズ王国) retail chain across Japan. Founded in Paris in 2004 by Sanae HISADA, who in 2008 became the first Japanese person to receive the Maître fromager title from the French Guilde des Fromagers, the business combines traditional French cheese aging expertise with Japanese culinary sensibilities, producing unique fusion products such as wasabi goat cheese, shiso nigiri cheese, matcha cheese, and cheese macarons.

The company operates an event-driven, multi-revenue-stream business model centered on its physical boutique. Revenue streams include in-store retail cheese sales, monthly Cheese Day all-you-can-eat events (€30/person on the 3rd Saturday), regular and private cheese seminars (€35–€50/person), custom cheese platters and catering for events, house-made cheese macarons (€8–€15), guided cheese trips to Southern France (€1,200/person for 6 nights), and an international air-freight cheese delivery service from Paris to Japan via its affiliated KEN INTERNATIONAL JP import/export arm. Underlying technology is the traditional French affineur craft, supported by EU sanitary accreditation obtained in 2006 and proprietary specialty aging and fusion product recipes. The firm employs approximately 6 staff, and its second Paris location (16th arrondissement) was closed in December 2013 to consolidate operations.

The customer base spans individual walk-in retail customers (French locals, tourists, Japanese expatriates in Paris), Japanese consumers receiving monthly cheese set deliveries in Japan, and B2B catering clients for private events. Sales and marketing rely on a bilingual French/Japanese website, active social media (Facebook, Twitter, LINE, LinkedIn), monthly events, and earned media coverage in outlets including Le Figaro, A NOUS PARIS, Air France Magazine, and Lufthansa Woman's World. The upstairs cheese salon/café has been temporarily closed for renovation since approximately 2020.

Name

Salon du Fromage Hisada

Legal name

Fromagerie Hisada

Website

https://hisada.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Salon du Fromage Hisada is a Paris-based Japanese-French specialty cheese boutique and affineur (cheese aging specialist), serving retail customers, Japanese expatriates, and event clients through in-store sales, seminars, catering, and international cheese delivery to Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisanal Fromagerie / Specialty Cheese Retail

NAICS

Specialty Food Retailers (4452), All Other Specialty Food Retailers (445298)

SIC

Retail-Grocery Stores (5411), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Cheese Shops & Fromageries (CRAHAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Gourmet & Fine Food Stores (CRAHAGAG)

Keywords

• Artisanal cheese retail
• Cheese aging service
• Cheese education seminars
• Specialty fromagerie
• International cheese delivery

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail cheese sales: In-store sale of imported and curated French cheeses, including seasonal selections and specialty products. The shop offers fresh cheeses, aged cheeses, and house-made cheese products.
2. Cheese salon and café: On-site cheese tasting salon (currently temporarily closed as of 2020) offering cheese pairings with wine, sake, and Japanese tea. Cheese café operations with food and beverage service.
3. Cheese seminars: Regular cheese seminars (定例チーズセミナー) held on the 4th Saturday of each month at 35€ per person, and private cheese seminars at 50€ per person. Seminars cover cheese education, tasting, and pairing techniques.
4. Catering and events: Catering service for parties and events, with cheese platters made to order based on budget. Also organizes cheese trips to Southern France (6 nights/7 days at 1,200€ including accommodation, meals, transport, and seminar fees).
5. International cheese delivery to Japan: Air freight delivery service sending aged cheeses from Paris to Japan (international cool courier). Monthly cheese sets delivered at 50€ per set plus shipping. Targets Japanese customers and expatriates.
6. House-made cheese products: House-made specialty products including cheese macarons (3pc for 8€, 6pc for 15€), seasonal cheeses, and truffle-enhanced cheeses sold in-store.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Salon du Fromage Hisada is an artisanal French-Japanese fromagerie in Paris that specializes in aged and curated cheeses, operated by a certified Maître Fromager. The shop sells premium French and international cheeses at its Paris 1st arrondissement boutique, hosts cheese tastings, seminars, and a monthly Cheese Day all-you-can-eat event, and offers catering platters and air-freight cheese delivery to Japan. House-made Japanese-French fusion products such as wasabi goat cheese, shiso nigiri cheese, and cheese macarons distinguish the offering.

Product overview

Salon du Fromage Hisada operates a physical retail cheese shop with an attached cheese cafe, offering direct sales of curated French and international cheeses, cheese-themed events and dining experiences, international delivery services to Japan, educational seminars, catering, and seasonal cheese products. The main store is located in Paris 1st arrondissement (47 rue de Richelieu), with a former second location in the 16th arrondissement that closed in 2013. The company's founder Sanae Hisada opened the Paris store in 2004 after establishing the Japanese cheese retail chain Cheese Kingdom, and her daughter Eri Hisada now manages the Paris operations with expertise in cheese affineur techniques.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Retail cheese shop at Salon du Fromage Hisada (1st arrondissement)

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• LUPICIAminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016LUPICIA, a Japanese tea company, partnered with Fromagerie Hisada for a tea and cheese tasting event. Free tasting sessions were held at LUPICIA's boutique at 40 rue Bonaparte 75006 Paris in March 2016. Four teas were paired with carefully selected cheeses including Chèvre, Vercorais, matcha cheese, and Trappe D'Échourgnac.
• NIKKA WHISKYminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2012NIKKA WHISKY collaborated with Fromagerie Hisada for a whisky and cheese pairing dinner event called 'Le Diner des agitateurs' at WHISKY LIVE Paris in September 2012. Madame HISADA's cheeses were featured alongside NIKKA whisky. A follow-up tasting event was held at La Maison du Whisky in December 2012.
• KEN INTERNATIONAL JP (株式会社久田)coreOthersKEN INTERNATIONAL JP is the import company founded by Eri HISADA in 2006. It serves as the import/export arm for Hisada's French cheese operations, handling international cheese orders and coordinating with the parent company Hisada Co., Ltd. (株式会社久田) in Japan. The company also organizes cheese trips and manages cheese seminar registrations in Japan.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Fromagerie Laurent Dubois: Paris fromager holding the prestigious Meilleur Ouvrier de France title, operating retail boutiques plus a cheese bar/dining experience. Directly comparable on credentials, format, and event-style monetization.
• Beillevaire: Multi-location French fromagerie-retailer that has scaled the affineur/boutique format across France. Comparable on product mix (aged cheeses, house-made specialties) and demonstrates the multi-store trajectory Hisada could pursue.
• Androuet: Historic Paris fromagerie (est. 1909) operating a flagship boutique with cheese counter, tasting room, and on-site restaurant — the closest comparable high-end cheese specialist in Paris and a direct competitor for both retail and experiential revenue.
• Marie-Anne Cantin: Paris affineur with a single boutique plus tasting/educational offering — very similar boutique-scale, affineur-led, and education-driven model to Hisada.
• Fromagerie Alléosse: Renowned Paris affineur with a boutique focused on aged cheeses and a tasting counter. Highly comparable to Hisada on the affineur craft angle and on the premium Paris retail positioning.
• Fromagerie Jouannault: Independent Paris-region affineur operating specialty cheese retail and wholesale; comparable boutique-scale operation with strong affineur positioning.
• Barthouil: Independent French affineur/cheese retailer operating boutiques and mail-order; comparable on artisanal affineur positioning and the combination of physical retail with delivery.

Broad incumbents

• Cheese Kingdom (Cheese Oukoku / Hisada Co., Ltd.): The Japanese parent company's 21-store retail chain — the broader retail platform the Paris boutique feeds into and the natural B2B/import counterpart for French cheese sourcing.

Emerging players

• La Maison du Fromage: Specialty French cheese retailer operating across multiple formats including e-commerce; comparable on the integrated retail-plus-delivery model that complements Hisada's physical-first approach.

Regional players

• La Fromagerie: London-based cheese shop combining retail with a café, tasting events, and education — a close format analog operating in a different geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/FromagerieHisada
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/salon-du-fromage-hisada

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Salon du Fromage Hisada