Savoir-Faire & Découverte

What Savoir-Faire & Découverte does

Savoir-Faire & Découverte is a French non-profit training organization founded in 1999 by agricultural engineer Arnaud Trollé, operating as an entity of Groupe SOS, a 22,000-employee non-profit group. The company delivers immersive artisanal training through a two-tier product architecture: short 'Ateliers Découverte' discovery workshops (1–2 days) and longer 'Formations Immersives' (3–30 days) conducted on-site at real artisan workshops, farms, and manufacturing facilities across France. The catalog spans 30+ thematic areas including eco-construction, eco-responsible craftsmanship, sustainable food, agroecology, and natural care/beauty, with 110+ distinct courses taught by a network of 63–70+ practicing professional artisans.

The business model is direct-to-consumer with pricing in the low-hundreds-to-low-thousands euro range (e.g., €889–€959 for 4–5 day courses), installment plans for purchases over €300, and gift voucher distribution. A core operational and financial enabler is Qualiopi certification (certificate FR069155-1), which unlocks third-party training financing through OPCO, France Travail (AIF), and VIVEA, allowing career-changers and farmers to access courses via public funds. The company also sells gift certificates valid for one year and partners with Ethi'Kdo for eco-friendly gift card distribution. The underlying 'platform' is a curated network of physical sites and trainer relationships rather than a software product; supporting technology is limited to a WordPress catalog, Stripe payments, and Calendly scheduling. The company has announced that it will permanently cease operations on March 31, 2026, with all remaining sessions to be delivered through that date.

Name

Savoir-Faire & Découverte

Legal name

Savoir-Faire & Découverte

Website

https://lesavoirfaire.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Savoir-Faire & Découverte is a French non-profit training organization offering immersive, hands-on artisanal workshops and 3–30 day training courses across 30+ themes, serving career changers, farmers, and hobbyists; it operates as part of Groupe SOS and has announced cessation of operations on March 31, 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisanal Vocational Training

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (6115)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Culinary Skills Workshops (Baking, Regional Cooking, Food Prep Skills) (THAJAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Professional Culinary Arts (Chef Training) (EDAOAKAA)

Keywords

• Artisanal training programs
• Discovery workshops
• Professional reconversion
• Immersive crafts training
• Sustainable crafts education

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Workshop and training fees: The company generates revenue through registration fees for discovery workshops (1-2 days) and practical training courses (3-30 days). Payment is accepted via credit card (Stripe), bank transfer, check, ANCV vouchers, gift cards, and phone. For courses over €300, installment payment plans of 2-4 payments are offered.
2. Gift vouchers (Bons cadeaux): The company sells gift vouchers for workshops and training, valid for one year from purchase date, providing prepaid revenue and customer acquisition.
3. Professional training financing: Training courses are eligible for financing through OPCO, France Travail (AIF), and VIVEA for farmers, providing third-party revenue streams while individual participants may also self-fund.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Savoir-Faire & Découverte is a French non-profit training organization that delivers immersive artisanal skill development through two main product lines: Ateliers Découverte (1-2 day discovery workshops) and Formations Immersives (3-30 day intensive training programs). Training is conducted in real artisan workshops, farms, and manufacturing sites across France by 63 professional practitioner-trainers, covering more than 30 thematic areas including eco-construction, eco-responsible craftsmanship, sustainable food, agroecology, and natural care and beauty.

Product overview

Savoir-Faire & Découverte is a training organization offering artisanal skill development through a two-tier product architecture: Ateliers Découverte (1-2 day discovery workshops) and Formations Immersives (3-30 day intensive training programs). The company provides over 110 workshops and training sessions across more than 30 thematic areas including eco-construction, sustainable food, agroecology, natural cosmetics, and artisanal crafts. Training is conducted as hands-on immersions in active workshops, farms, and manufacturing sites across France, led by practicing professional artisans. Additional services include gift certificates and entrepreneurial coaching programs. The company ceased operations on March 31, 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ateliers Découverte (Discovery Workshops) One to two day discovery workshops allowing participants to experiment with artisanal trades, understand the realities of a craft, and evaluate fit for a reconversion, diversification, or activity creation project. Covers more than 30 thematic areas across France.
• Formations Immersives (Immersive Training Programs) Practical training programs lasting 3 to 30 days, organized as immersions in active production sites (workshops, farms, manufactures) and taught by recognized professional artisans. Focuses on active pedagogy through hands-on learning in real conditions.
• Formation Créer son atelier artisanal - Conserverie de produits végétaux Intensive 5-day training program for creating an artisanal preservation workshop for vegetable products. Covers jam and jelly making, vegetable conserves, aromatic plant transformation, autoclave use, and business planning. Public rate €959.
• Formation Cosmétiques naturels bio 4-day training for creating a 100% natural, bio and ecological cosmetics activity using wild or cultivated plants. Covers saponification, oil macerates, balms, hydrosols, and regulatory compliance. Public rate €889.
• Formation Transformateur artisanal de fruits et légumes - Confiturier Training in artisanal transformation of fruits and vegetables including jams, conserves, lactofermentation, syrups, and oils. Covers techniques from pasteurization to sugar preservation methods.
• Formation Boulanger bio pain au levain naturel Training in organic sourdough bread making using natural leaven, stone-ground flour from ancient wheat varieties, and wood-fired ovens. Designed for both hobbyists and those seeking professional reconversion.
• Formation Fabricant de cosmétiques artisanaux et naturels Training for creating natural artisanal cosmetics with bio and Nature & Progrès labels. Covers emulsions, balms, cold-process soaps, and regulatory compliance for the European cosmetics market.
• Accompagnement entrepreneurial (Entrepreneurial Coaching) 4-week coaching program in distance format to develop a business plan for artisanal activities. Provides foundations for building a sustainable activity aligned with personal values, supporting participants who have completed training and need to structure their project.
• Bons Cadeaux (Gift Vouchers) Gift certificates valid for one year, allowing recipients to choose any workshop or training from the catalog. Valid across all 1 to 5-day modules with available dates.

Quantifiable outcome

• 95% satisfaction rate in 2024 among learners
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Ethi'KdominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorÉthi'Kdo is a non-profit cooperative promoting ethical consumption. Savoir-Faire & Découverte is a partner, allowing customers to use Éthi'Kdo gift cards for purchasing workshop and training vouchers through a dedicated conversion page on the partner website.
• Groupe SOScoreOthersSavoir-Faire & Découverte is an enterprise of Groupe SOS, a non-profit organization with 22,000 employees, 2 million beneficiaries annually, and presence in 50 countries. Groupe SOS focuses on youth, health, vulnerable populations, elderly care, ecological transition, and territorial revitalization.
• Le Jardin des Métiers d'Art et du Design (Le JAD)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLe JAD is a production center for contemporary craft, hosting about twenty craft artists and designers. It offers cultural programming, educational activities, and a resource center with MakerLab, conferences, and training.
• Ferme d'AvenirminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation created in 2013 to accelerate agricultural transition in France. Supports development of agroecological farms that nourish populations while preserving natural resources and ensuring sustainable living conditions for farmers.
• Campus de VersaillesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLearning and transmission center dedicated to heritage and artisanal excellence trades, structured around five key sectors: built environment, craft arts, design, horticulture, gastronomy, and cultural tourism.
• Artisans d'AvenirminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOrganization encouraging success of craft artisans and future craft artists, offering a mutual aid network, resources, and training to help them take action and improve their living from their trade.
• GRAINE Pays de la LoireminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRegional network for environmental education and ecological transition, federating and supporting actors committed to this domain at the territorial level for over 30 years.
• Me Former en OccitanieminorGTM or Marketing PartnerReference website for professional orientation and training in the Occitanie region, centralizing useful information on pathways, available aid, and organizations to facilitate access to training.
• Allier Bourbonnais AttractivitéminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPromotes local professionals in agricultural, agri-food, artisanal, or industrial sectors. Selection supports economic development and Bourbonnais identity.
• L'Agence pour le Développement des Métiers d'ArtminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSupports craft arts professionals by enhancing visibility, structuring, and economic development. Works with audiences and territories to disseminate know-how and encourage cooperation.
• La NefminorGTM or Marketing PartnerReference for ethical finance in France since 1988, bringing together a wide network of members and partners committed to financing positive-impact projects for ecological and social transition.
• Cap PositifminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAccompanies professional transitions by helping each person build a project aligned with their values and useful to the world, combining HR expertise, work psychology, and search for meaning.
• Paris je te quitteminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOnline media for Parisians and Ile-de-France residents wishing to leave the capital for the regions, offering practical advice on career change, job searching, housing, and local integration.
• Institut des Savoir-Faire FrançaisminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSupports professionals in Living Heritage Craft trades by promoting their careers in France and internationally. Recognized as being in the public interest under the auspices of several ministries.
• Je Change de MétierminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAccompanies people in professional reconversion by orienting them toward training centers adapted to their projects, addressing all profiles in transition: employees, self-employed, or job seekers.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Tela Botanica: French botany and agroecology education network with workshops, courses, and citizen-science programs. Comparable in the agroecology and natural-care thematic areas of Savoir-Faire & Découverte's catalogue, with overlap on ecological-transition learners.
• Atelier de l'Arche: French workshop operator offering artisanal discovery classes in crafts such as leather, ceramics, and woodworking. Comparable on short-format artisan discovery workshops and direct-to-consumer booking model outside of food.

Broad incumbents

• Le Cordon Bleu: International culinary school network offering professional culinary training. Comparable on the professional culinary arts portion of Savoir-Faire & Découverte's catalogue and on diploma-bearing vs non-diploma positioning, but serves a global premium audience.
• AFPA: France's leading public vocational training organisation, providing accredited professional reconversion programs across many trades. Comparable as a major channel through which French adults fund and consume professional training, and a potential acquirer or successor operator for SFD's catalogue.
• Chambres des Métiers et de l'Artisanat (CMA France): Official French chambers overseeing artisan craft training and certifications nationwide. Comparable as the dominant institutional provider of craft vocational training in France, against which Savoir-Faire & Découverte competes for both learners and funding.

Others

• Fermes d'Avenir: French association promoting agroecological farming, listed as an existing SFD partner. Comparable as a node in the agroecology training ecosystem and a potential partner for any successor or buyer of the agroecology curriculum.
• Me former en Occitanie: Regional French training aggregator and orientation platform, listed as an existing SFD marketing partner. Comparable as an ecosystem participant that channels French reconversion learners into training providers including SFD.

Direct peers

• Wecandoo: French platform offering short, hands-on artisanal workshops hosted in craftsperson ateliers across France. Closely comparable business model: discovery-style workshop experiences, multi-category artisanal curriculum, direct-to-consumer online booking, and gift voucher sales.
• Compagnons du Devoir: Traditional French craft guild providing multi-year, immersive training across artisanal trades. Comparable in artisanal vocational training philosophy and 'learning by doing in real workshops' pedagogy, though on a much longer program horizon.
• L'Atelier des Chefs: French culinary workshop operator running short-format cooking classes and longer professional reconversion courses. Highly comparable on the culinary portion of Savoir-Faire & Découverte's catalogue (baking, conserves, food transformation) and on the workshop-as-product format.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@lesavoirfaire
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/savoir-faire-d-couverte

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Savoir-Faire & Découverte