LE TRENEL

What LE TRENEL does

Le Trenel (legal name: Association Le Trenel) is a non-profit catering association headquartered in Carcassonne, Occitanie, France, operating as a social enterprise under the French Insertion par l'Activité Économique (IAE) framework. The association employs approximately 20 staff across two Carcassonne sites — a production Atelier/warehouse at 169 bis avenue Général Leclerc (also its registered address) and a customer-facing Showroom at 4 Place Davilla — and is co-funded by the French State via DDETSPP, the Département de l'Aude, and FDVA, alongside commercial catering revenue. Its mission combines professional insertion and training for adults in difficulty with the operation of a catering business specialized in world cuisines (Mediterranean, French, Asian, Creole).

The product portfolio is organized into three lines: Buffets & Desserts (Mediterranean, seasonal, and vegetarian cold buffets priced €18–€46 per plateau, plus an assortment of oriental pastries); Plats & Menus (hot dishes including couscous at €7–€14.50, tajines at €11.50–€14, paëlla and jambalaya at €12.50, with set menus starting at €14.50 per person); and Plateaux Repas, a corporate meal-tray line at €18 per tray served in compostable plant-fiber trays with bamboo cutlery, offered in Terre, Mer, and Végé variants. The menu is refreshed at least twice per year and adapted per client request; no proprietary technology platform underpins the offering — the digital stack is limited to a WordPress website with online quote requests, Google Analytics, and a Facebook page.

Commercial activity is split between private individuals (birthdays, baptisms, weddings, receptions) and corporate/institutional clients (office meals, business events, government functions). Named institutional clients include CAF, CPAM Aude, URSSAF, ARS, EFS, Département de l'Aude, Communauté d'Agglomération Carcassonne, APF France Handicap, CFA, LOXAM, Gîtes de France, ALogea, Comptoir, and Ramon. Distribution is direct: showroom pickup, workshop pickup, phone/email ordering, online quote request, and local delivery. The association is RGPD-compliant, holds the 'Commerce Engagé' environmental label from COVALDEM11 (signed 12 February 2019), and has participated in the ERASMUS+ AMTCC European adult-training project as both a participant and the French host (February 2020).

Name

LE TRENEL

Legal name

Association Le Trenel

Website

https://letrenel.fr

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Le Trenel is a non-profit catering association in Carcassonne, France, specializing in world-cuisine buffets, hot dishes, and €18 corporate meal trays for private events and institutional clients across the Aude department, operating as a social-enterprise insertion employer.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Catering Services

NAICS

Caterers (722320), Caterers (72232)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812), Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Catering (Off-Premise) (HSACAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Drop-Off Catering & Boxed Meals (HSACAGAB)

Keywords

• Catering services
• World cuisine
• Event catering
• Corporate meals
• Buffet service

Headquarters

HQ city

Carcassonne

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Catering and Food Service: One-time transaction-based revenue from catering orders including buffets, plated meals, dessert assortments, and corporate meal trays. Customers place orders for specific events with delivery or pickup options.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Le Trenel is a non-profit catering association (traiteur associatif) in Carcassonne that prepares and delivers world cuisine — including Mediterranean, French, Asian, and Creole dishes — for private events (birthdays, baptisms, weddings, receptions) and corporate clients (office meals, business events). Offerings span cold buffets with oriental pastries, hot plated dishes (couscous, tajines, paëlla, jambalaya), and ready-to-eat corporate meal trays served in compostable packaging. Menus are refreshed at least twice yearly and adapted per request.

Product overview

Le Trenel is an associative catering company (traiteur associatif) based in Carcassonne, France, specializing in world cuisines including Mediterranean, French, Asian, and Creole. The company operates as a social enterprise focused on professional insertion. Their product portfolio consists of three interconnected catering services: Buffets & Desserts (cold buffets with Mediterranean, seasonal, and vegetarian options plus oriental pastries), Plats & Menu (hot dishes including couscous, tajines, paëlla, and jambalaya with complete menu options), and Plateaux Repas (€18 meal trays with three themed options). The company updates their menu twice yearly and adapts to specific client requests. They emphasize eco-friendly practices with compostable packaging and the 'Commerce Engagé' label.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Buffets & Desserts Cold buffet service for private celebrations and corporate receptions featuring Mediterranean (€35 full / €18 half plateau), seasonal (€46 / €24), vegetarian (€41 / €21), and mixed (€21 half) options, plus oriental pastries (baklawa, makrout, corne de gazelle, etc.) sold by assortment, weight, or box.
• Plats & Menu Hot dishes and complete menus including couscous varieties (poulet €7, agneau €9, classique €12.50, royal €14.50), tajines (poulet €11.50, agneau €13, poisson €14), paëlla and jambalaya at €12.50, moussaka €12.50 (6 pers. min), and set menus starting at €14.50/person (entrée+plat or plat+dessert) or €16.50/person (full menu).
• Plateaux Repas (Corporate Meal Trays) Ready-to-eat corporate meal trays at €18 each (water and bread included), served in compostable plant-fiber trays with bamboo/wooden cutlery. Three themed menu options: Menu Terre (chicken oriental with semolina and raisins), Menu Mer (colin fillet with coco-curry sauce and quinoa with vegetables), and Menu Végé (falafels with herb yogurt sauce).
• Offres Entreprise (Corporate Catering Packages) Corporate catering packages including business lunches, office meals, and event catering tailored for companies and associations, available via custom quote.

Named customers14 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• ERASMUS+ AMTCC Project PartnersmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2020European social enterprise network including structures from France, Belgium, Portugal, and Hungary. Project focuses on training and insertion of adults in difficulty through exchange of practices, methods, and tools. Le Trenel hosted the French event in February 2020 with delegates from Belgium, Portugal, and France.
• COVALDEM11coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 February 2019Environmental organization certifying the Commerce Engagé label. Conducted workshops on selective sorting and anti-waste recipes. Provided guidance on sustainable practices.
• Alternatiba CarcassonneminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 September 2018Environmental association for which Le Trenel collaborated with CAPA HORTI students from Lycée Charlemagne to create a complete vegetarian, zero-waste menu for the event.
• Chantier EcolecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCertification partner allowing employees to obtain CQP Salarié Polyvalent certification. National and Occitanie regional office representatives participated in ERASMUS+ AMTCC project events.
• Pôle EmploicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational employment service partner participating in ERASMUS+ AMTCC events to present insertion programs and meet with international counterparts.
• PAM11 (Plateforme d'Accompagnement et de Maison d'Insertion)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal IAE (Insertion par l'Activité Économique) network in Aude that participated in ERASMUS+ AMTCC project presentations.
• DIRECCTE/OccitaniecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional directorate of economy, employment, and social affairs that participated in ERASMUS+ AMTCC events presenting IAE structures in Aude.
• Lycée Charlemagne (CAPA HORTI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgricultural vocational school whose students collaborated with Le Trenel on the Alternatiba zero-waste vegetarian menu project.
• Vignerons de FoncalieuminorOthersLocal wine partner providing wines for ERASMUS+ AMTCC event meals and gatherings.
• Auberge des LicesminorOthersLocal restaurant partner that provided a cassoulet meal for ERASMUS+ AMTCC event attendees.
• Brasserie CiutatminorOthersLocal brewery whose beers were served during the ERASMUS+ AMTCC event, particularly appreciated by Belgian delegates.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Dalloyau: French traiteur and pâtisserie house offering event catering and corporate gifting. Comparable in offering cold buffets, sweet assortments, and event-based catering across B2B and B2C channels.
• ANDES: French national network of solidarity grocery and food social enterprises. Closely comparable social-enterprise food-service mission, public co-financing model, and IAE-style insertion orientation.
• Maison Lenôtre: Iconic French traiteur offering event catering, buffets, and corporate meals across France. Comparable in core catering activity, multi-cuisine offer, and corporate/institutional customer mix — though at national premium scale versus Le Trenel's regional social-enterprise model.
• Potel et Chabot: Prestigious French event caterer serving corporate, institutional, and private events with buffet, plated, and cocktail formats. Directly comparable in off-premise event-catering model and institutional client base.
• Saint Clair Le Traiteur: French event and corporate caterer serving weddings, corporate functions, and institutional clients. Comparable product mix (buffets, menus, meal trays) and B2B/B2C customer split.

Emerging players

• Atelier des Chefs: French cooking-workshop and culinary-services company offering hands-on events and corporate team-building catering. Partial overlap in event-based food service and corporate client base, with a smaller operational footprint focused on experiential culinary activities.

Broad incumbents

• Elior Group: Major French contract catering and food services group serving B2B, education, and healthcare markets. Overlapping institutional catering offerings, but at multi-national scale versus Le Trenel's local social-enterprise model.
• Compass Group: Global contract food services and support services major. Overlaps Le Trenel's B2B catering activity through institutional, corporate, and public-sector accounts, though at international scale and without eco/social-insertion specialization.
• Sodexo: Global French-headquartered food service and facilities management company serving corporate, government, healthcare, and education clients. Comparable institutional catering activity, but operates at vastly broader scale and without the social-insertion mission.
• Newrest: French-headquartered international catering, hospitality, and food services group. Comparable contract catering capability, but with diversified travel/airline/hospitality focus rather than regional social-enterprise positioning.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Letrenel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/le-trenel

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 LE TRENEL