French Student entrepreneurs Win National Prize with Legume-Based Energy Bars
Two recent graduates are revolutionizing the sports nutrition market with Taladal, a company producing energy bars crafted from locally sourced legumes, after winning the prestigious Pépite prize in November 2025.
Chloé Mollier and Ninon Coustillac, both 25, recently returned from Paris celebrating their victory in the national Pépite prize competition for student entrepreneurs. Their winning venture, Taladal, emerged from a field of four promising projects from the Brittany region, securing the top spot with its innovative energy bars made primarily from legumes. “Ninon always had in mind wanting to start a business, this was less the case for me,” Mollier shared. “And then we had the idea.”
The pair, master’s students in Nutrition and Food Sciences with a focus on food innovation at the University of Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), initially explored the untapped potential of legumes – both for their nutritional benefits and their positive environmental impact. Recognizing their shared passion for running, they envisioned a product tailored to the needs of athletes. “Since we both run, we figured there was something we could do for sport,” Mollier explained. “Except that we knew nothing at all about the entrepreneurial part.”
To bridge this knowledge gap, Mollier and coustillac enrolled in a year-long master’s degree program in Business Management and Management, leveraging the status of student entrepreneurs. This allowed them to dedicate their end-of-study internship to developing Taladal, gaining access to crucial resources. “We had access to offices and mentors,” Coustillac noted. “We were also in contact with other student entrepreneurs. It’s daily support because even if the projects have nothing to do with each other, we discuss our problems, the solutions we found and for us it was really enriching.”
The intensive program included workshops on project presentation, networking opportunities with industry professionals, and a six-month full-time internship.mollier and Coustillac officially graduated in September 2024, formally establishing Taladal in January 2025 and commencing production in April of the same year.
Currently, Taladal offers three distinct energy bar recipes, each containing an average of 30% legumes. “We have a texture that is easy to eat during exercise, a taste that remains fairly neutral,” Mollier detailed. A core principle of the company is sourcing ingredients locally, with 100% of their components originating from French suppliers.
The success of Taladal reflects the growing number of student entrepreneurs in France-a tenfold increase compared to a decade prior, when the official status was first created.
[Image of Chloé mollier and Ninon Coustillac at the Pépite prize ceremony, in November 2025. | TALADAL]
The rise of ventures like Taladal underscores the growing dynamism of the French startup ecosystem and the increasing appeal of entrepreneurship among young, innovative minds.
Why, Who, What, and How did it end?
Why: Chloé Mollier and Ninon Coustillac sought to create a sports nutrition product that was both healthy and environmentally sustainable, capitalizing on the nutritional benefits and positive environmental impact of legumes. They also identified a gap in the market for a legume-based energy bar.
Who: The founders of Taladal are Chloé Mollier and Ninon Coustillac, both 25-year
