From Niche to Method: How La Seine is Redefining Inclusive Pâtisserie in Tunisia and Beyond

For a decade, La Seine has transformed what was once considered a niche market with no future—gluten-free, sugar-free, or lactose-free pâtisserie—into a matter of rigorous method. Its founder, a laureate of the 2025 Agro-food Prize at the Tunisia Women Entrepreneurs Trophies, is now betting on inclusive B2B solutions and preparing for scale-up, from Tunisia to African markets.

The Silent Guest at the Buffet

At the end of every buffet, there is always someone who doesn’t eat. They pour themselves a coffee, smile at the trays of mignardises, and let their turn pass. No one pays much attention. They are celiac, diabetic, lactose intolerant, vegan, or they have simply decided that their body deserves better than an industrial pastry at 10 a.m. In a seminar room, they are more numerous than one might imagine.

It is for this silent guest—the one the party forgets—that Imen Bakhti created La Seine ten years ago. The idea was a gamble. At the time, the “free-from” aisle in Tunisia consisted of a few imported, industrial, expensive, and rarely delicious products. Offering local pâtisserie capable of reconciling indulgence with dietary constraints seemed, to many, an oxymoron. They told her so.

“The ‘this won’t work’ comments are what have always motivated me,” she says today.

The specialty was new, but the demand already existed: it was hidden in the habits of those who had given up. What was once seen as a whim of affluent clients has become a matter of public health as well as lifestyle. The World Health Organization recommends keeping free sugars below 10% of daily energy intake. Celiac disease, long underdiagnosed, affects approximately 1% of the global population. Add to this intolerances, vegan choices, and a generation of consumers who read labels like they re-read contracts. The vocabulary has changed: we no longer talk about “diets,” we talk about “choices.” Being able to decide what to eat based on one’s needs, without turning it into a punishment, is precisely the conviction that guided the birth of the company.

“It was a challenge, a conviction,” summarizes its founder.

Yet, in Imen Bakhti’s mouth, the word that comes up most often is gustatory pleasure. Her profession, as she conceives it, consists of restoring that pleasure to those who have lost it, without asking them to choose between their health and the joy of a shared dessert.

Rigor as a Non-Negotiable

In this trade, good intentions weigh nothing without rigor. A gluten-free cake touched by a pinch of flour is not a “nearly” gluten-free cake: it is a dangerous product for the person eating it. An engineer by training, with a background in biological engineering, Imen Bakhti early on integrated what hygiene, processes, and R&D demand.

La Seine has equipped itself with two separate production units: one entirely dedicated to gluten-free products, the other to recipes containing gluten sources. The boundary is physical, and it is non-negotiable. Approximately 90% of raw materials are of local origin, and the entire chain—from supplier selection to delivery—obeys the same standard of excellence.

“Our products are safe; logistics are secured to offer products worthy of the gluten-free label,” she insists.

The company pushes this logic further by communicating the complete list of ingredients used to its clients and partners, and by reinjecting their feedback into the evolution of the range.

B2B: A Well-Being to Share

This rigor opened the door to the corporate world for La Seine. In early 2017, a first B2B order—particularly technical and entirely custom-made—gave the company the opportunity to prove itself as a reference in dietary expertise. Requests have not stopped since: restaurants, hotels, gourmet grocery stores, embassies, learned societies, and even traditional bakeries that entrust certain products to La Seine rather than making them themselves.

The reasoning of these clients is that of any manager facing a risk they do not control: make it or have it made. Producing safe gluten-free products requires dedicated lines, cleaning procedures, and fine traceability—in short, a know-how that few establishments possess. A hotel that improvises a dessert for a celiac client is gambling its reputation on a single plate. It prefers to rely on a specialist who guarantees the safety.

Corporate events push this logic even further. A seminar, a board meeting, a partner reception, or a client day are moments where hospitality says something about the host organization. Providing, alongside classic sweets, a gluten-free, no-added-sugar, or vegan offer makes visible an attention that employees notice: no one is left out of the dessert while others serve themselves.

For partners and guests, the message is that of an organization that knows its guests. For the client company, the value proposition reads on three levels:

1. Inclusivity: It makes events truly inclusive, as every guest, regardless of constraints, shares the same moment as others.
2. Signal: Placing a healthy offer on the table says, without words, that the health of those being hosted matters, making self-care part of the company culture.
3. Concrete Well-Being: A gourmet break that does not end in a fatigue crash an hour later sends teams back to meetings more available, more focused, and ultimately more productive. Quality of life and well-being at work are played out in these details, more surely than in many charters.

“We are flexible, and La Seine adapts to its clients through its custom solutions,” explains Imen Bakhti.

Growing Without Compromise

Growth has imposed its own discipline. With volume, the management of scheduling, stocks, priorities, and logistics has become the nerve of the war.

“What made all the difference was planning, management, processes, priority management, stock management, and logistics,” estimates the founder.

Sales points have been designed individually according to their clientele, with adapted offers and operations. The La Marsa location, prepared during the health crisis and opened in 2022, was maintained against all odds, amidst inflation and shortages. The company then chose to carefully prepare its expansion to consolidate its foundations—a reflex that many growing SMEs neglect.

The next step is scale-up. The production unit will expand, as will the teams and the network of sales points. In Tunisia, La Seine targets Sousse, Sfax, and Bizerte, to meet demand that now overflows the Greater Tunis area. Internationally, African markets are under consideration, and Gulf countries are in the crosshairs.

Exporting gluten-free products is not just about shipping boxes: packaging, preservation, and logistics must be rethought, and recipes adjusted to the expectations of each partner.

“We have set the bar very high to compete with major brands, despite the fact that we do not really have a direct competitor,” observes Imen Bakhti.

However, she sets a condition for this ambition: production and distribution restructured solidly enough to give nothing on safety, and partners who share her vision of health and are ready to commit in the long term.

With 19 employees, La Seine also wants to grow differently, by opening its recruitment more to people with reduced mobility, women, and young people. This approach is fully in line with the company’s will to contribute to a more inclusive economy, based on equal opportunities, diversity, and the valorization of talents. The founder claims a continuous improvement approach, even if it means slowing down when standards require it.

“We are very realistic and try to conform to very technical standards,” she says.

Ten years after its beginnings, the silent guest at the buffet has found a place at the table. Now, it remains to set more tables—in Sfax or Bizerte, south of the Sahara, or on the shores of the Gulf.