What Kold does

Kold College is a Danish vocational education institution headquartered in Odense, Denmark, operating two campuses — Landbrugsvej 55 (food and hospitality) and Bjørnemosevej 190 (agriculture and nature) — that together serve approximately 800-900 year-students and employ around 145 staff. The institution delivers EUD (erhvervsuddannelse) and EUX programs across two main pillars: Mad & Oplevelser (Food & Experiences), covering chef, waiter, baker, pastry chef, gastronomy, nutrition assistant, and dairy specialist tracks; and Jordbrug & Natur (Agriculture & Nature), covering farmer, gardener, landscape gardener, animal caretaker, and forest and nature technician tracks. The institution also runs Kold Tekniske Gymnasium (HTX technical upper secondary) with nine study directions including mathematics, technology, physics, programming, biology, and biotechnology, alongside a Choice10 climate-focused 10th-grade program, supplementary courses (bartender, chocolatier, beer sommelier, horticulture spray certification), and the Talentakademiet and Ledelsesakademi for advanced and management-track students.

The core delivery model combines on-campus theory and practical training in production-grade facilities — including a 60-hectare working farm, commercial kitchens, restaurants (notably Smyrna), a dairy, bakery, chocolate workshop, greenhouses, stables, riding arenas, tropic house, and machinery halls — with company-based apprenticeship periods (læretid), supported by an apprenticeship guarantee (lærepladsgaranti) for select programs. EUX graduates earn both a vocational certificate (svendebrev) and a gymnasium diploma, providing a university-eligibility pathway that distinguishes the offering from pure EUD tracks.

Kold College operates as a selvejende institution (self-owning independent institution) under Danish education law, founded historically in 1862 via Kresten Kold's folk high school in Dalum and reorganized under its current name in December 2008 following a 2004 merger with Gartnerskolen Søhus. Revenue derives almost entirely from Danish government vocational education funding; tuition is free for students, and the institution is governed by a 12-member board. Distribution is direct-to-student via the national optagelse.dk enrollment portal (February-March application window) supplemented by open-house events, info evenings, branch days, virtual Matterport tours, and an integrated on-campus kollegiet (dormitory) approximately 4 km from Odense city centre.

Name

Kold

Legal name

Kold College

Website

https://koldcollege.dk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1862

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Kold College is a publicly funded Danish vocational education institution in Odense delivering EUD, EUX, and HTX programs across food/hospitality and agriculture/nature, supported by production-grade on-campus training facilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vocational Education and Training

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (61151), Other Technical and Trade Schools (611519), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Agriculture & Food Production (EDABALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Technical Community Colleges (Applied/CTE-Focused) (EDAHADAD), Nutrition, Special Diets & Wellness Cooking (EDAOAKAJ), Workforce Development & Continuing Education Divisions (Noncredit) (EDAHADAG)

Keywords

• Vocational education
• Culinary training
• Agricultural education
• Technical gymnasium
• Hospitality training

Headquarters

HQ city

Odense

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: As a public vocational education institution in Denmark, Kold College is funded primarily through government educational funding. Students attend tuition-free. The institution operates as a self-governing entity (selvejende institution) under Danish education law.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Kold College delivers tuition-free vocational education and training (EUD and EUX) in two main streams: Mad & Oplevelser (Food & Experiences) covering chef, baker, waiter, pastry chef, gastronomy, and nutrition assistant programs, and Jordbrug & Natur (Agriculture & Nature) covering farmer, gardener, landscape gardener, animal caretaker, and forest/nature technician programs. The school supplements vocational training with a technical gymnasium (HTX), a 10th-grade Choice10 program, supplementary talent and leadership academies, short courses (e.g., bartender), and an on-site student dormitory (Kold Kollegiet). All programs combine classroom theory with hands-on training in real production environments including commercial kitchens, restaurants, bakeries, a dairy, greenhouses, a working farm, and stables.

Product overview

Kold College is a Danish vocational education institution (erhvervsuddannelser) offering a comprehensive portfolio of educational programs. The institution operates primarily through two main program categories: Mad & Oplevelser (Food & Experiences) covering culinary arts, hospitality, and food production programs including kok (chef), bager (baker), tjener (waiter), konditor (pastry chef), ernæringsassistent (nutrition assistant), and gastronomi (gastronomy); and Jordbrug & Natur (Agriculture & Nature) covering farming, horticulture, and animal care programs including landmand (farmer), gartner (gardener), anlægsgartner (landscape gardener), dyrepasser (animal caretaker), and skov- og naturtekniker (forest technician). The institution also offers EUX programs that combine vocational training with gymnasium qualifications, HTX technical upper secondary education, Choice10 10th grade programs, supplementary programs like Talentakademiet and Ledelsesakademi, and student housing through Kold Kollegiet. Kold positions itself as 'Danmarks Førende Fødevareskole' (Denmark's Leading Food School) with facilities including kitchens, restaurants, bakeries, a chocolate workshop, dairy, greenhouses, stables, and riding arenas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kold Tekniske Gymnasium (HTX): Technical upper secondary school with study directions including KlimaScience, health & sports, design, eSport and Science.
• Choice10
• Talentakademi
• Kolds Gastronomiske Ledelsesakademi
• Kold Kollegiet

Products and services

• Mad & Oplevelser (Food & Experiences)

Quantifiable outcome

• Students graduate with both svendebrev (skilled worker certification) and EUX gymnasial diploma

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Erhvervsakademiet LillebæltcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Kold College is one of four founding schools on Funen that established Erhvervsakademiet Lillebælt in 2008. The academy takes over administration of the school's academy-level programs (akademiuddannelser), while programs continue to be delivered at Kold College facilities.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Uddannelsesstyrrelsen (Danish Ministry of Education): National regulator and primary funding source for all Danish vocational schools including Kold College; relevant not as a competitor but as the institutional counterparty whose policy choices shape Kold's operating environment.

Direct peers

• Den Skandinaviske Designhøjskole: Danish vocational education provider with hands-on programme orientation; competes for the same youth-education segment and operates similar apprenticeship-integrated vocational tracks.
• Aalborg Tekniske Gymnasium: Danish technical gymnasium delivering HTX programmes comparable to Kold Tekniske Gymnasium, competing for the same upper-secondary science-and-technology student segment in the national optagelse.dk system.
• ZBC (Zealand Business College): Danish vocational school offering food, agriculture, and trades programmes with multiple campuses, directly comparable in mandate and program structure to Kold College and serving the same applicant pool through optagelse.dk.
• Roskilde Tekniske Skole: Danish vocational institution offering EUD, EUX, and HTX programmes across technical trades; comparable public-funding model and youth-education mandate overlapping Kold's Choice10 and HTX offerings.
• Hotel- og Restaurantskolen (HRH): Specialist Danish vocational school focused on hospitality and culinary programmes, competing head-to-head with Kold College's Mad & Oplevelser department for chef, waiter, and gastronomy applicants.
• Jordbrugets Uddannelsescenter (JU): Danish agricultural vocational training centre offering farmer, gardener, and landscape-gardener programmes that directly overlap Kold College's Jordbrug & Natur portfolio.
• Learnmark (Horsens): Danish vocational school combining EUD, EUX, HTX, and 10th-grade programmes with a multi-campus model structurally analogous to Kold College.

Emerging players

• SDE (Skandinavisk Drogcenter for Ernæring) / Dalum Mejeriskole alumni: The dairy and food-production specialist tradition inherited by Kold College (formerly Dalum Mejeriskole) creates an adjacent ecosystem of smaller dairy and food-tech training providers; Kold's mejerist programme is the most direct comparability point.

Broad incumbents

• Erhvervsakademiet Lillebælt: Danish academy of higher vocational education co-founded by Kold College and other Funen schools; administers Kold's academy-level programmes (akademiuddannelser) and represents both a partner and a higher-education pathway competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Koldcollege
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kold-college
• Instagraminstagram.com/koldcollege.dk

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 Kold