Gautier La Combe (EDHEC 2002) & Benjamin La Combe (EDHEC 1999) and Mugo for the EDHEC Entrepreneur of the Year award

Candidates for the EDHEC Entrepreneur of the Year award

OUR PROMISE

Imagine new ways of feeding yourself and living in harmony with nature.

The founders

MUGO was founded in 2009 by two entrepreneur brothers, Gautier and Benjamin la Combe.

Gautier la Combe, 40, holds a law degree, a master's degree from EDHEC and a specialised master's degree from l’Ecole Nationale d’Architecture de Versailles. Gautier was category manager at Danone, then general curator of "Jardins, jardin aux Tuileries" at its foundation, before joining JCDecaux.

Benjamin la Combe, 43, holds a master's degree in contemporary history, a master's degree from EDHEC, complemented by a vocational baccalaureate in landscaping at Tecomah-Léa. Benjamin began his career with Airbus in Turkey as part of VIE (Corporate Volunteer Programme), before joining Sodexo.

Convinced of the absolute necessity of preserving nature and biodiversity, the optimistic vision of the two brothers has been forged by their family history: one of their grandfathers was a flax spinner who was an ardent defender of austerity and his "terroir", another was a politician who loved his country and its people.

The company

MUGO is an innovative company developing biodiversity solutions and working for the benefit of its customers - individuals, businesses and communities. MUGO has become a major player in landscaping, beekeeping and urban agriculture in France, with over 150 employees and 10 million Euros in turnover today.

MUGO has combined auditing, consulting and design activities with landscape and urban agriculture, bringing together renowned architects, engineers, agronomists and landscapers.

A strategy that breaks with tradition

Propelled by uninterrupted growth for the past 10 years, the company has broken the boundaries of a fragmented market consisting of a multitude of companies and landscape agencies, by focusing on innovation and the quality of customer services.

Innovation is at the heart of MUGO's strategy, with a 360° offer covering all the needs of cities, businesses and individuals for plants, landscapes and biodiversity.

The quality of service is supported by a network of agencies close to its customers, and by reliable performance thanks to trained teams, regular investments in equipment and vehicles, a large sales team and a strong and recognised brand that covers all the group's business activities.

Based on an integrated business model, MUGO controls the entire value chain, from consulting on landscape strategy to the operation of urban micro-farms through the implementation of works, floral decoration, urban beekeeping, and educational activities.

MUGO has seized opportunities for external growth, acquiring four landscaping companies, a flower shop, and an urban agriculture start-up, and continues to consolidate the sector.

Iconic references

MUGO designs fertile, living and beautiful landscapes. MUGO is the winner of the following international competitions: Reinventing Paris, Grand Central Saint-Lazare, Sciences Po Paris campus, Carrefour group's University of Crafts and Trades, Parisculteurs, and Inventons Métropole du Grand Paris. MUGO's clients include major private investors and developers in the property sector.

MUGO collaborates with many architects in France and abroad, including Jean-Michel Wilmotte, Snohetta, Christian de Portzamparc, Rem Khoolhaas, Winy Maas, and Jacque Ferrier.

MUGO advises large groups on the integration of nature, biodiversity and urban agriculture into their strategy: Unibail-Rodamco, Gécina, Vinci Immobilier, and Auchan.

MUGO installs beehives in town, including for the Paris Opera, the Comédie Française, GoodPlanet Foundation, Roland Garros, Golf National and many companies like JCDecaux, Yves Rocher, Unilever and Galeries Lafayette. MUGO promotes conservation beekeeping, focused on bees and their benefits to biodiversity. MUGO also has a flock of sheep and goats in order to promote eco-grazing.

MUGO builds terraces, gardens, vegetable gardens and parks for companies and institutions: gardens and terraces for Hermès, American Hospital Park, Madeleine patios for Norges Bank, Château de Villiers gardens, La Boursidière office campus for property investors, vegetable gardens for Comptoirs Richard, Galeries Lafayette and Knorr, gardens and kitchen garden of the Barn, country hotel in the forest of Rambouillet. In addition, MUGO has designed and built many gardens for private clients throughout France.

MUGO cultivates its own cut flowers in the Yvelines, implements and manages urban micro-farms, the roof of Grand Central Saint-Lazare, the former site of the Central School in Chatenay-Malabry, the eco-district in Asnières, and the Bouliac plain in Bordeaux with Fermes d'Avenir.

MUGO maintains many parks, gardens, terraces and green roofs; such as that of the Quai Branly Museum - Jacques Chirac, the pentagon in Balard, the Beaugrenelle shopping centre, the La Cense stud farm in Rochefort-en-Yvelines, the Chantilly estate, INSEP, the FFT in Paris, and many head offices, private and historical gardens, municipalities, and public institutions.