scea rene briand

What scea rene briand does

Groupe René Briand (operating through SARL René Briand and SCEA René Briand) is a French producer of professional vegetable seedlings, headquartered in Saint-Julien-de-Concelles near Nantes. Founded in 1968, the company produces over 350 million plants per year across 22 hectares of heated and lit glass greenhouse, including a 4-hectare dedicated organic line (Ecocert-certified) producing 60+ million certified organic plants annually. Its catalog covers hot crops (grafted and non-grafted aubergine, cucumber, courgette, beans, melon, watermelon, pepper, tomato) and cold crops (aromatics, beetroot, celery, cabbage, spinach, fennel, onion, leek, salads, chicories, corn salad, parsley), offered in multiple formats (mottes of 4/7.5/10 cm, mini-mottes, and 176/280/315-cell trays).

The technical base relies on greenhouse automation, mechanized sowing, 4.5 hectares of subirrigation, and on-site cogeneration (with heat recycling into climate control), supported by grafting know-how that is the company's historical point of differentiation. Quality management is certified under ISO 9001 since 2000, with GSPP seed sourcing where variety-compatible and Ecocert AB certification maintained for over 20 years.

The commercial model is B2B direct sales to professional French market gardeners, executed through a regional field-sales team covering six territories and a dedicated sales-administration function. Pricing is negotiated, not publicly disclosed, and there is no e-commerce, retail, or export channel; new client onboarding is handled via a dedicated form routed to the commercial team. Leadership is held by CEO Olivier Guerbet (since 2012) and Deputy CEO Frédéric Renaud, with no external shareholders, no funding rounds, and no subsidiaries disclosed.

Name

scea rene briand

Legal name

SARL René Briand

Website

https://briandplants.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Groupe René Briand is a French B2B producer of professional vegetable seedlings (conventional and certified organic), operating 22 hectares of greenhouse near Nantes to supply market gardeners across France with grafted and non-grafted plants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Vegetable Seedlings (Horticultural Plant Production)

NAICS

Nursery and Floriculture Production (11142)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100)

akta.pro primary industry

Propagation & Seedling/Plug Production (Vegetable Transplants, Tissue-Culture Liners) (AFAGAHAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Greenhouse Vegetable Production (Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Peppers, Leafy Greens) (AFAGAHAA), Organic Greenhouse & Protected Crop Farming (High Tunnels, Greenhouses) (AFAGAKAD)

Keywords

• Vegetable seedling production
• Organic plant propagation
• Grafted vegetable transplants
• Greenhouse horticulture
• Professional market gardening

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint-julien-de-concelles

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Vegetable Plant Sales: Production and sale of conventional and certified organic vegetable plants (seedlings/ transplants) to professional market gardeners. Products are sold in various formats: motte (soil block) sizes of 4cm, 7.5cm, and 10cm, mini-motte, and trays of 176/280/315 cells. Products include both grafted and non-grafted plants across hot and cold crop categories. Revenue is generated through direct B2B sales via a regional commercial team.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Groupe René Briand is a French agricultural producer that cultivates and sells conventional and certified organic vegetable seedlings (transplants) for professional market gardeners. Operating 22 hectares of heated glass greenhouses, the company produces over 350 million plants annually—including grafted and non-grafted varieties of melons, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergines, lettuces, cabbages, leeks, and other market-garden crops—and sells directly to B2B clients across France through a network of regional commercial representatives.

Product overview

René Briand operates as a single-product agricultural company specializing in vegetable seedling production for professionals. The company offers two main product lines: Conventional Plants (Plants Conventionnels) and Biological Plants (Plants Biologiques), both encompassing hot plants (plants chauds) grown in heated greenhouses and cold plants (plants froids) for outdoor or unheated cultivation. Hot plants include grafted and non-grafted varieties of aubergine, cucumber, courgette, beans, melon/watermelon, pepper, and tomato. Cold plants include aromatics, beetroot, celery, cabbage, cress, chives, spinach, fennel, onion, chard, leek, purslane, parsley, and various salads. The company produces over 350 million plants annually across 22 hectares of glass greenhouses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Plants Conventionnels (Conventional Vegetable Plants) Conventional vegetable seedlings for the professional market, comprising hot plants (grafted and non-grafted aubergine, cucumber, courgette, beans, melon/watermelon, pepper, tomato) and cold plants (aromatics, beetroot, celery, cabbage, cress, chives, spinach, fennel, onion, chard, leek, purslane, parsley, salads-chicories-corn salad). Sold in formats of motte (soil block) 4cm, 7.5cm, and 10cm, mini-motte, and trays of 176/280/315 cells.
• Plants Biologiques (Certified Organic Vegetable Plants) Certified organic vegetable seedlings produced on 4 hectares of dedicated greenhouse space, yielding over 60 million plants annually. Includes the same hot-plant categories (grafted and non-grafted aubergine, cucumber, courgette, beans, melon/watermelon, pepper, tomato) and cold-plant categories as the conventional line (aromatics, beetroot, celery, cabbage, young shoots, chives, spinach, fennel, onion, chard, leek, purslane, parsley, salads-chicories-corn salad), under Ecocert Agriculture Biologique certification (2024-2026 and 2025-2027 certificate validity).

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 350 million plants produced annually across 22 hectares of glass greenhouse
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves17 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Beekenkamp Plants: A Dutch breeder and propagator supplying young plants, including vegetable and ornamental material, to professional growers. Its controlled-environment propagation, scale, and B2B grower channel make it a direct operating analogue, although its portfolio is broader.
• Florensis: A Dutch young-plant producer serving professional growers across Europe. It overlaps with René Briand in controlled-environment propagation and commercial young-plant supply, though its assortment is more heavily oriented toward ornamentals.

Broad incumbents

• Ball Horticultural Company: A global horticulture company that develops and supplies seed and young-plant material to commercial growers. Its breeding, propagation, and professional distribution footprint make it a broad incumbent comparable to René Briand's scale and B2B model.
• Vilmorin-Mikado: A large vegetable-seed breeder and supplier serving professional growers internationally. It is an upstream incumbent linked to René Briand through seed genetics and grower relationships, but it does not primarily operate the same transplant-production facilities.
• Gautier Semences: A French vegetable-seed breeder and supplier with a strong professional-grower focus. It provides an upstream comparison around crop varieties and technical agronomy rather than direct competition in greenhouse seedling production.
• Enza Zaden: A global vegetable-breeding company focused on seed varieties for professional growers. It is comparable through crop genetics, grower customers, and variety innovation, while remaining upstream of René Briand's plant propagation.
• Rijk Zwaan: A Dutch vegetable-breeding group developing varieties for professional growers and seed distributors. Its crop R&D and B2B grower relationships are relevant to René Briand, but its core product is seed rather than finished transplants.
• Sakata: A global breeder and seed supplier for vegetables and ornamentals serving commercial growers. It is a broad incumbent comparable on crop genetics, product development, and professional horticulture channels, though not on direct plant propagation.
• HM Clause: A vegetable-seed business with breeding, production, and sales for professional growers, including in Europe. It is an upstream incumbent linked through seed supply and crop expertise rather than a like-for-like young-plant grower.

Regional players

• Graines Voltz: A French horticultural distributor supplying seeds, young plants, and related inputs to professional growers. It reaches the same domestic customer set and handles complementary propagation inputs, although it is not a pure greenhouse producer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/groupe-ren%C3%A9-briand/posts/?feedView=all&viewAsMember=true

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 scea rene briand