Toulouse: the Grand Marché is developing its event offering with Miharu
The Grand Marché MIN Toulouse Occitanie, the “belly of Toulouse”, entrusts the development of its events offer to the company Miharu. Or how to attract gala evenings in an atypical setting.
Miharu, company Toulouse event that already covers the most emblematic places such as the Manoir du Prince (Portet-sur-Garonne), IThe Mas des Canelles (Castanet), the Village (Toulouse Grand Rond) or the Airbus Event Center (Blagnac), will develop a new offer within the Grand Marché, the National Interest Market. The “belly of Toulouse”, which hosts more than 300 producers of fresh produce, more than 150 companies, has more than 10,000 m² of spaces that can be used for events, with a capacity of 300 to more than 2,500 people.
“An atypical experience, in a natural, raw setting”
No question, for the Grand Marché as for Miharu, to walk on the flower beds of the MEETT, the Toulouse-Aussonne Exhibition Center, or even the Zénith. “We want to create a complementary offer, exploit the incredible potential of this industrial site, from the producers’ tiles, the flower market, and to offer an atypical and unique experience to our customers”, explains Jean-François Renac, Managing Director of Miharu (“Open your eyes wide”, in Japanese).
About twenty events per year
No question of general either the main activity of the MIN, which is wholesale. “We will never stand in the way of professionals.” However, explains the manager, there is a “real demand” for events in a “natural, a little rough stripping” setting, as close as possible to human activity and production, “in a place that has its own activity, outside of events ”. The director of Miharu expects about twenty events per year, organized for the Grand Marché.
“Open the doors to a place little known to Toulousans”
For the director of the Grand Marché, the opportunity is “magnificent” to open wide the doors of this place reserved for professionals (except at lunchtime for its restaurants), “ultimately quite unknown to Toulouse”. “We continue to organize a few events on our own, but we are delighted to entrust our event activity to recognized Miharu specialists,” explains Maguelone Pontier. The director wants to optimize the “event potential” of surfaces unused in the evening, such as the producers’ tile (3500 m²), restaurant terraces, or the large park of the MIN.
A funding round and nearly a million euros raised in 2020 and 2021 for Miharu
“We do not forbid anything,” blows Jean-François Renac, who expects a turnover of € 500,000 per year for Miharu on the Grand Marché, or 20% of the expected progression of the company over the five years. Miharu raised nearly one million euros from the BPI and the Occitanie Tourism Fund in 2020-2021. Events are already scheduled at the MIN next year: the gala dinner of the Congress of the Center for Young Leaders (2000 people in May 2022), and the “24 heures du MIN”, at the beginning of July 2022.