Credit Mutuel Equity & Management & Private Investors take majority stake in Maison Bissardon

Antoine Pichat became majority shareholder of Maison Bissardon in October 2026, buying out Solexia, the Lyon entrepreneurs’ fund that had held the company since 2018, and bringing in Crédit Mutuel Equity as a minority investor. Pichat had led the business since 2018 as a minority partner alongside the fund, and had already arranged that earlier transaction, when Solexia bought from the founder. Founded in 1994 by Jean-Louis Bissardon, Maison Bissardon presses fruit into juices, nectars, purées and compotes. It controls the whole process at its plant in Saint-Paul-en-Jarez, in the Loire: selecting the fruit, washing and pressing it, then pasteurising it gently enough to keep the taste while making it keep. Its range contains no colourings or preservatives, and the plant produces more than 8 million bottles a year on a 3,000 square metre site bought in 2011. It generated revenue of €5–25M and employed 32 people. It buys from more than 250 partner growers, most of them in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, favouring French supply so that the origin of each fruit can be stated. It sells under three brands addressing different channels: Bissardon to delicatessens, restaurants, caterers, wine merchants and hotels, Bio Les Cœurs to organic distributors, and L’Arbre à Jus to catering wholesalers. It also presses and bottles on behalf of growers and produces private label for retailers. The French fruit juice market, worth around 2 billion euros and second in Europe behind Germany, grows little overall, but buyers have moved towards products with shorter ingredient lists, identified origins and less sugar, which is where the company sells. Crédit Mutuel Equity backed expansion in France, particularly around Paris and in the south-east, exports, and new drinks developed along those lines, without ruling out acquisitions.