Bel Group facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Groupe Bel

Type	Private
Industry	Cheese
Founded	1865
Headquarters	Suresnes, Île-de-France
Key people	Cécile Béliot (CEO) Ivan Giraud (CEO of Bel Group USA)
Parent	Unibel

The Bel Group is a big company from France that makes and sells cheese all over the world. You might know some of their famous cheeses like The Laughing Cow, Babybel, and Kiri!

What is the Bel Group?

The Bel Group has its main office in Suresnes, a town near Paris, France. They make and sell many kinds of cheese, especially those that come in small, individual portions. The company started way back in 1865 in a place called Orgelet.

Bel Group's five most famous brands are The Laughing Cow, Babybel, Kiri, Leerdammer, and Boursin. These cheeses are sold in many countries across five continents! As of 2015, the Bel Group was in 33 countries, and their products were sold in 130 countries. That's a lot of cheese!

How it All Started: A History of Bel

The company was founded in 1865 by a person named Jules Bel. It was first called Établissements Jules Bel.

Early Years and Famous Brands

• In 1921, Jules's son, Léon Bel, officially registered the famous La vache qui rit (The Laughing Cow) brand.
• A few years later, in 1929, they opened their first international office in the United Kingdom.
• By 1933, they had another office in Belgium.
• The Bonbel cheese brand was launched in 1947.
• In 1950, they bought a company called Port Salut, which had been making cheese since 1816.
• The popular Babybel cheese was launched in 1952.
• They opened an office in Germany in 1959.

Growing Around the World

• In 1965, they opened an office in Spain, which is now called Bel España.
• The Kiri cheese brand was launched in 1966.
• They continued to grow, opening offices in the Netherlands (1967) and the United States (1970).
• In 1977, they launched Mini Babybel, the smaller version of Babybel that many people love today.
• They also started expanding into other countries like Sweden (1978) and Germany (1989), where they acquired the Adler company.

New Cheeses and More Growth

• The Mini Bonbel was launched in 1990.
• Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Bel Group kept growing by buying other cheese companies in places like Belgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the United States, Egypt, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
• In 2002, they acquired the Dutch Leerdammer Group and its European offices.
• They also bought Fromagerie Boursin from Unilever, adding another well-known cheese to their family of brands.
• In 2009, the Bel Group updated its logo.
• In 2015, they bought a big part of Safilait, a cheese company in Morocco.

Famous Cheeses from Bel Group

Bel Group's Good Deeds: The Bel Foundation

The Bel Group created the Bel Foundation in May 2008. This foundation helps promote healthy eating and protects the environment. They support many different projects around the world that help people eat better and live in a healthier environment.

Lab'Bel: Where Art Meets Cheese!

Lab'Bel's logo

Lab’Bel is the Bel Group's special art laboratory. It started in 2010. It's led by artist Laurent Fiévet, who is part of the Bel family, and Silvia Guerra, an art expert.

The Bel Group has always supported artists. For example, Benjamin Rabier designed the famous Laughing Cow. They also supported Francisque Poulbot, known for his drawings of Parisian children, and the animator Paul Grimault. The Bel Group even sponsors a museum dedicated to The Laughing Cow, called La Maison de La vache qui rit, where Lab’Bel also hosts special events.

See also

In Spanish: Groupe Bel para niños

• List of cheesemakers