What IL CIELO does

IL CIELO is a German organic catering and consulting company (Bio-Catering-Unternehmen) founded and owned by Carola Petrone, headquartered in Weßling-Oberpfaffenhofen. The company specializes in 100% organic meal programs for childcare facilities, kindergartens, and schools, and operates at the intersection of municipal catering procurement, sustainable gastronomy, and child nutrition. Its primary customer segments are public and private kindergartens, schools, large central kitchens, and gastronomy businesses seeking to transition to organic sourcing.

The company's central technology asset is the Bio-Speiseplanmanager, an online platform that combines menu planning, kitchen management, and a recipe database into a single tool. The platform enables facilities to generate nutritionally balanced, seasonally adjusted, and pre-priced 100% organic meal plans, with automatic cost calculation and shopping list generation. The tool is described as unique in Germany ('deutschlandweit einmalig') and has been adopted by more than 3,000 facilities nationwide. It is provided free of charge to childcare facilities, with a beta version specialized for vegetarian/vegan kitchens.

The business model is primarily professional services and project-based. Revenue is generated through organic catering services, bespoke consulting and coaching engagements (menu planning, organic transition support, kitchen organization, regional procurement), and paid one-day seminars on sustainability in gastronomy. The company has no external funding, operates with 9 employees, and relies on sales-led direct engagement supported by professional network referrals through Tollwood München, DEHOGA Bayern, Bioland, and the Vernetzungsstelle Schulverpflegung Bayern. Notable multi-year engagements include the Bio Offensive München (training city kitchen staff to support Munich's 60% organic food target by 2025), the Ökomodellregion Regensburg Bio-Regio Coaching (2024), and 'Wirte kochen für Kinder' (training nearly 100 regional restaurant operators in cooking for children).

Name

IL CIELO

Legal name

Il Cielo

Website

https://ilcielo.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

IL CIELO is a German organic catering company founded by Carola Petrone that provides the Bio-Speiseplanmanager menu planning tool, consulting, and catering services to kindergartens, schools, municipalities, and gastronomy operators seeking 100% organic meal programs across Germany.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Bio-Catering Services: Organic catering services for childcare facilities, kindergartens, and schools
2. Consulting and Coaching: Professional consulting services including menu planning, organic transition support, kitchen organization, regional food procurement, inventory management, and purchasing management for large-scale kitchens
3. Seminars and Training: Educational seminars on sustainability in gastronomy, organic food handling, and childcare nutrition. Conducted as one-day in-house seminars with maximum 15 participants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

IL CIELO is a bio-catering company that delivers organic food solutions for childcare facilities, schools, and municipalities in Germany. Its core products are the Bio-Speiseplanmanager (a free online menu-planning, kitchen-management, and recipe-database tool for 100% organic meals) and professional consulting/coaching services covering organic transition, seasonal menu design, kitchen organization, regional procurement, and seminars on sustainable gastronomy.

Product overview

IL CIELO (Il Cielo) is a bio-catering company founded by Carola Petrone that specializes in organic food solutions for children's nutrition facilities. The company's primary offering is the Bio-Speiseplanmanager, an online platform that integrates menu planning, kitchen management, and recipe databases. Complementing the software are consulting and coaching services focused on seasonal menu design, conversion to organic catering, kitchen organization, and sustainable food procurement. The company also offers seminars on sustainability in gastronomy and provides bio-regional coaching programs for caterers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bio-Speiseplanmanager Online accessible program that combines menu planning, kitchen management, and recipe database. Enables childcare facilities, schools and other nutrition facilities to access nutritionally balanced, seasonally adjusted, and price-calculated meal plans in 100% organic quality including corresponding recipes; automatically calculates costs and generates shopping lists. Provided free of charge to childcare facilities. Used by more than 3,000 facilities nationwide.
• Beratung und Coaching (Consulting and Coaching) Professional consulting and coaching services for community catering operations covering seasonal menu planning, conversion to organic food, kitchen organization, regional ingredient sourcing, inventory management, and procurement management for large kitchens. Delivered to municipalities (Munich, Regensburg, Starnberg), central kitchens, and individual facilities.
• Seminar – Nachhaltigkeit in der Gastronomie One-day seminar (9–17 hours) covering the three pillars of sustainability, self-assessment, establishing sustainability in business operations, climate neutrality, quality standards, sustainable packaging, and bio-regional food usage. Maximum 15 participants, available as in-house training for gastronomy operators.
• Bio-Regio Coaching Regensburg Coaching program commissioned by the Öko-Modellregion Regensburg to support four caterers in implementing organic regional catering, including sourcing farmers producing vegetables and potatoes specifically for caterer-scale use.

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Tollwood München - Bio für KindercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006Cooperative partnership with Tollwood's 'Bio für Kinder' initiative (launched with Munich's Health and Environment Department in 2006). Developed the Bio-Speiseplanmanager together. Founder Carola Petrone serves as mentor since 2010. Project supported by corporate sponsors covering organic cost premiums for 2 years.
• DEHOGA BayerncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with DEHOGA Bayern (Bavarian Hotel and Restaurant Association) on 'Wirte kochen für Kinder' (Restaurants Cook for Children) project. Designed seminar series for restaurant operators on cooking for children. Nearly 100 operators trained over 2 years.
• Vernetzungsstelle Schulverpflegung BayerncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Bavaria's School Food Network on 'Wirte kochen für Kinder' project to bring regional restaurant professionals into school catering.
• Ökomodellregion RegensburgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned to support 4 caterers in implementing organic regional catering within the Eco-Model Region Regensburg. Successfully transitioned all caterers to organic ingredients with local vegetable and potato production starting 2024.
• BiolandminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as reference client and professional network contact. Jan Plagge (Bioland President) co-founded Best Economy Forum with Carola Petrone.
• Bio SuisseminorGTM or Marketing PartnerReference client in consulting and seminar services.
• Stadt MünchencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with City of Munich on Bio Offensive München initiative. Trained kitchen staff in organic food handling over 2 years. Munich aims for 60% organic food in all city facilities by 2025.
• Gemeinde HerrschingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKindergarten facilities participated as sponsored facilities in 'Bio für Kinder' initiative. Coaching client for organic transition.
• Waldorfschule SchwabingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipated as sponsored facility in 'Bio für Kinder' initiative.
• Stadt RegensburgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBio City Regensburg embedded organic quality criteria in all childcare and school catering tenders. Engaged in Eco-Model Region Regensburg project.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Eurest Deutschland (Compass Group): German arm of the Compass Group providing contract catering including school and workplace meals. Comparable institutional catering model but operates at much larger scale and without organic positioning.
• Klüh Catering: German catering and facility services company serving institutional clients including schools and public-sector kitchens. Comparable as an incumbent in the same school catering procurement pool, though without organic specialization.
• Sodexo Deutschland: Global facilities services and catering giant with significant presence in German school and institutional catering. Comparable as a competing school caterer but broader in scope (corporate, healthcare, education) and not organic-specialized.
• Dussmann Group: German facility services provider with catering operations including school and institutional meal provision. Comparable in targeting public-sector catering clients but operates across a much wider service portfolio.

Others

• Bioland: Germany's largest organic farming association and organic certification body. IL CIELO lists Bioland as a network partner; comparable as an ecosystem enabler shaping the organic standards that underpin IL CIELO's value proposition.
• Alnatura Produktions- und Handels GmbH: Major German organic food retailer and supplier supplying organic ingredients to institutional kitchens. Comparable as an organic supply-chain player operating in IL CIELO's procurement ecosystem, though retail rather than consulting.
• Bio Company GmbH: Berlin-based organic supermarket chain and organic wholesale supplier. Comparable as a German organic ecosystem participant with some B2B/wholesale supply overlap with IL CIELO's regional procurement advisory work.

Direct peers

• Menüpartner: German school and kindergarten meal provider delivering cooked meals to childcare facilities and schools. Comparable target segment and delivery model to IL CIELO's catering side, though without the consulting or digital tool layer.
• Apetito AG: One of Germany's largest meal providers for schools, daycare centers, and care facilities. Comparable to IL CIELO because it serves the same childcare/school catering customer segment, but at a much larger scale and without the organic specialization or digital menu-planning tool.
• Hofmann Menü: German meal provider specializing in school catering, daycare meals, and senior menus with deep-rooted regional kitchen network. Comparable childcare/school catering focus, though conventional rather than organic.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/il-cielo

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 IL CIELO