LVQR_ENG

A French suc cess stor y

with augmented reality!

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Aspeligni aspitio quatiis sus cor am eic tesequi deliquis pa volum fugia ilitiur iaectatem aligentem solo con plit velique volent quia consent aut autatur si sam, offici bearchici alignim nonse sunt pro quatusam doluptasime voluptibus de liamus endi vel minvelenimus dusanditibus magni rem simenitat apeliquod et quos alignatiunt aut fugiate ea susdam, voles qui animporemped maximen daectature cum, tecab imolupturio. Nequodias aut fugia dis expliquide verum volores seditem veligen ihillia sum arcipis tiatin pore nobita num fuga. Itaquam la aliquianti aceperit, qui dion nus rem eius solorum et fugitae riorum rerum iliquos esse vid quo volut quatus veruptassime voluptatem inctibusa debis et dolo ommodipsumet eicient de et, quis solupti simolup taspiendam commoluptis rest, optat hit, sum, tet officiatur audipid millatia ventia quo es dissequi beaqui que ommolores voluptas et unt fugit volorem posapienis andaere percien ihitio eaquis suntur alis niendae. Bo. Quibusam que comnimodipis sandandis nonsedipita consequis core evendae evenis ratum fuga. Pa quis eos rem alit aut hil iniasitaes dolut labo. Et latatem remporporum volore cus.

Antoine Fievet CEO of the Bel Group

Content An active Laughing cow® • p6 With the Editions E-T-A-I application your high-quality books become interactive!

How does it work?

An iconic brand deeply anchored in the heart of the French A worldwide brand present on all five continents A responsible brand, proud of its roots and its nutritional qualities

A “lass” from the Roaring Twenties • p36

Download the application to your Smartphone or tablet.

The Editions E-T-A-I application is based on image recognition.

All you have to do is to open the application and scan the book’s connected pages. You will discover original additional content: videos, image galleries, 3D images, additional information, sharing...

This simple, free application gives you a new, enhanced reading experience with strong added value.

This logo indicates that you have access to the interactive content.

From the Walkyrie to the vache qui rit® From Léon Bel to Benjamin Rabier or how to create an eye-catching logo A hard-hitting debut that attracts greedy hands

A natural-born performer • p62

An efficient sales and marketing strategy A cow that anticipates and melds into the evolutions of society A rapid, virtuous internationalisation

Content An active Laughing cow® • p6 With the Editions E-T-A-I application your high-quality books become interactive!

How does it work?

An iconic brand deeply anchored in the heart of the French A worldwide brand present on all five continents A responsible brand, proud of its roots and its nutritional qualities

A “lass” from the Roaring Twenties • p36

Download the application to your Smartphone or tablet.

The Editions E-T-A-I application is based on image recognition.

All you have to do is to open the application and scan the book’s connected pages. You will discover original additional content: videos, image galleries, 3D images, additional information, sharing...

This simple, free application gives you a new, enhanced reading experience with strong added value.

This logo indicates that you have access to the interactive content.

From the Walkyrie to the vache qui rit® From Léon Bel to Benjamin Rabier or how to create an eye-catching logo A hard-hitting debut that attracts greedy hands

A natural-born performer • p62

An efficient sales and marketing strategy A cow that anticipates and melds into the evolutions of society A rapid, virtuous internationalisation

A “lass” from the Roaring Twenties

f r ” o s m s a l t “ A ing Twe he n r t a ies o R 4

5

A “lass” from the Roaring Twenties

f r ” o s m s a l t “ A ing Twe he n r t a ies o R 4

5

A “lass” from the Roaring Twenties

Clapson’s foxtrot

From the Walkyrie to the Vache qui rit

It was a stroke of luck and others followed. That laughing cow® drawn by Rabier haunted Léon Bel: he’d seen it; he’d been living with it for a long time. His friends in the regiment had named it the Wachkyrie. Shades of Wagner and his Opera the “Ride of the Valkyries,” the warriors of the Nordic myths. Calling the cow’s head that adorned the side of the buses this pretty name was, of course, a way of taking the mickey out of the enemy. It must have given the “Poilus”* a good laugh. So much so in fact that years later they were still talking about it. After the war a bloke called Clapson using words written by Pierre d’Amor came up with a foxtrot called La Wachkyrie. He was pretty chuffed about what he’d done and sent it off to his old friends in the RVF. Bel was one of them and it got him thinking. When he arrived back home in Lons-le-Saunier he had to relaunch the family cheese business founded by his dad, Jules, who had died in 1904. His brother, Henri, had come back while he was mobilised to look after the firm, but now that peace had been installed it was time for the Bel Company to expand its wings

®

6

mmmmh !

So where did the name The laughing cow® come from? Good question! It’s simple, really. It was because of Wagner, WWI, the Great War that began in 1914. And because of a series of hazards; above all the meeting between two men whose paths should never have crossed.

Léon Bel was 36 when the First World War broke out. He was a cheese maker by trade in Lons-le-Saunier in his native Jura, and he left his business to serve his country. Nobody knows if it was his experience with cows that led to him being given the job, but from milk to meat wasn’t exactly a huge step, and he was posted to the “Train” or more exactly to the service supplying fresh meat (RVF) to the army.

And that’s another strange story. There were the famous Marne taxis requisitioned to transport troops to the front, and in parallel at least one thousand Parisian buses were diverted from their original function and transformed into mobile butcher’s shops. Soldiers eat meat and an empty stomach doesn’t exactly boost the fighting spirit! It just shows how important the RVF service was and how important were the men running it. Bel played an active role in the defence of his country.

7

A cow drawn for France!

Benjamin Rabier was too old for active service. In 1914, he had turned 50 with a great career as an illustrator behind him. No worries! If he wasn’t fit for the army he’d draw for his country: it was vital for the troops’ morale. He didn’t need any asking: a white rabbit playing a bugle for the fledgling air force, a giraffe for the 83rd infantry regiment, he got involved in many ways. And he was asked to have a think about the emblem for the RVF section. And of course meat and cow go hand-in-hand! So he opted for a cow or rather the head of a cow - laughing her head off! Something completely absurd as all around the prevailing colour was a darker shade of grey.

In fact, Rabier had forged a speciality for himself - giving animals human expressions. Almost in spite of himself, in fact. For the record he owed his fame to an accident. An over-accentuated stroke of the pen one day when he was drawing the mouth of a dog for the satirical paper Pêle-Mêle, and a smile was born! *Les Poilus was the name given to the French infantry in WWI.

A “lass” from the Roaring Twenties

Clapson’s foxtrot

From the Walkyrie to the Vache qui rit

It was a stroke of luck and others followed. That laughing cow® drawn by Rabier haunted Léon Bel: he’d seen it; he’d been living with it for a long time. His friends in the regiment had named it the Wachkyrie. Shades of Wagner and his Opera the “Ride of the Valkyries,” the warriors of the Nordic myths. Calling the cow’s head that adorned the side of the buses this pretty name was, of course, a way of taking the mickey out of the enemy. It must have given the “Poilus”* a good laugh. So much so in fact that years later they were still talking about it. After the war a bloke called Clapson using words written by Pierre d’Amor came up with a foxtrot called La Wachkyrie. He was pretty chuffed about what he’d done and sent it off to his old friends in the RVF. Bel was one of them and it got him thinking. When he arrived back home in Lons-le-Saunier he had to relaunch the family cheese business founded by his dad, Jules, who had died in 1904. His brother, Henri, had come back while he was mobilised to look after the firm, but now that peace had been installed it was time for the Bel Company to expand its wings

®

6

mmmmh !

So where did the name The laughing cow® come from? Good question! It’s simple, really. It was because of Wagner, WWI, the Great War that began in 1914. And because of a series of hazards; above all the meeting between two men whose paths should never have crossed.

Léon Bel was 36 when the First World War broke out. He was a cheese maker by trade in Lons-le-Saunier in his native Jura, and he left his business to serve his country. Nobody knows if it was his experience with cows that led to him being given the job, but from milk to meat wasn’t exactly a huge step, and he was posted to the “Train” or more exactly to the service supplying fresh meat (RVF) to the army.

And that’s another strange story. There were the famous Marne taxis requisitioned to transport troops to the front, and in parallel at least one thousand Parisian buses were diverted from their original function and transformed into mobile butcher’s shops. Soldiers eat meat and an empty stomach doesn’t exactly boost the fighting spirit! It just shows how important the RVF service was and how important were the men running it. Bel played an active role in the defence of his country.

7

A cow drawn for France!

Benjamin Rabier was too old for active service. In 1914, he had turned 50 with a great career as an illustrator behind him. No worries! If he wasn’t fit for the army he’d draw for his country: it was vital for the troops’ morale. He didn’t need any asking: a white rabbit playing a bugle for the fledgling air force, a giraffe for the 83rd infantry regiment, he got involved in many ways. And he was asked to have a think about the emblem for the RVF section. And of course meat and cow go hand-in-hand! So he opted for a cow or rather the head of a cow - laughing her head off! Something completely absurd as all around the prevailing colour was a darker shade of grey.

In fact, Rabier had forged a speciality for himself - giving animals human expressions. Almost in spite of himself, in fact. For the record he owed his fame to an accident. An over-accentuated stroke of the pen one day when he was drawing the mouth of a dog for the satirical paper Pêle-Mêle, and a smile was born! *Les Poilus was the name given to the French infantry in WWI.

A “lass” from the Roaring Twenties

The melted cheese revolution

8

At the age of 40 Léon was just about to have one of those intuitions which, at first glance, appeared to be completely daft, but which was going to revolutionise the world of consumerism. As a shrewd company boss he could feel the way the wind was blowing.

And as a former soldier who was no stranger to hardship he also knew that the French were on the lookout for practical solutions that would enable them to eat well at a lower price. In short, runny cheese that sweated and was difficult to preserve was a thing of the past. But as always it was time to put theory into practice. He was a skilled professional and he knew all about the latest advances in the cheese-making business. He’d heard about the Swiss brothers, Emile, Otto and Gotfried Graff who, since 1907, were past masters in the art of melted cheese.

Bel was a visionary and saw that this was the future. He would make this technique his own. It was economical as the cheese that came out of the cellars was not affected by cold or heat and travelled well. And that came at exactly the right moment as Bel had ambitions that went way beyond Lons-le-Saunier. “After the Great War the town counted around 13 000 inhabitants,” says Gérard Chappez, the author of an A to Z about Lons-le-Saunier published by editions Sutton. “It was the Jura Prefecture, a dynamic town packed with shops and industry as well as being the administrative centre of the department. It was the perfect spot for the Bel Company, which got the salt it needed to mature its cheese from the Montmorot salt mine; and there was also a railway station which meant they could dispatch their products easily.”

From Léon Bel to Benjamin Rabier or how to create an eye-catching logo In this favourable context the Fromage Moderne dear to the heart of Bel saw the light of day. And at the same time he heard Clapson’s music La Wachkyrie accompanied by its leaflet and these few words, “a souvenir of the war.” Above all, he saw the drawing of Rabier’s famous cow, the symbol of the RVF. If Archimedes hadn’t pre-empted the expression for all eternity it’s easy to imagine Léon giving vent to a huge Eureka. His Fromage Moderne would fit the bill, all the more so if it was called The laughing cow®. Jackpot!

On 6th April 1921 Bel officially registered the trade mark, The laughing cow®. For the illustration he uncapped his best pen and got down to work. He drew a cow standing with her udders showing, white on a red background, with her mouth wide open in the guise of a smile. In fact, it gave the impression that she was mooing rather than smiling. Drawing is a skill in itself and not everybody’s Rabier. The cow was lacking that little something. She could very well be saying: “It’s no problem giving milk when you know it’s going to be put to good use,” but it was Bel was aware of this. If he had any aspirations to be an artist they difficult to identify with her, to humanise her, to feel empathy. soon faded. After a year he decided to call in professionals to bring the logo to life. And among the applicants was none other than Benjamin Rabier! As a way of bringing things the full circle Bel chose his proposal, which he bought for 1000 francs at the time. It was a fair reward for a job that no one could have imagined being so difficult. “I spent nights without sleep trying to make a cow laugh,” said Rabier afterwards.

Whatever! It was an excellent choice as the cow’s face now looked much better: mischievous with slightly crinkled eyes and an attractive open smile. She was perfect, almost the same as she is today even if over a century the drawing has been refined and slightly modified to follow society’s trends. The curves have been rounded, the horns have lost their sharpness while the cow’s face has become whiter over time. Such are the ways of men and cows! The shape may change but the basics never do. The laughing cow® from the 1920s was already programmed to go out and conquer the world!

Mischievous crinkled eyes

9

A “lass” from the Roaring Twenties

The melted cheese revolution

8

At the age of 40 Léon was just about to have one of those intuitions which, at first glance, appeared to be completely daft, but which was going to revolutionise the world of consumerism. As a shrewd company boss he could feel the way the wind was blowing.

And as a former soldier who was no stranger to hardship he also knew that the French were on the lookout for practical solutions that would enable them to eat well at a lower price. In short, runny cheese that sweated and was difficult to preserve was a thing of the past. But as always it was time to put theory into practice. He was a skilled professional and he knew all about the latest advances in the cheese-making business. He’d heard about the Swiss brothers, Emile, Otto and Gotfried Graff who, since 1907, were past masters in the art of melted cheese.

Bel was a visionary and saw that this was the future. He would make this technique his own. It was economical as the cheese that came out of the cellars was not affected by cold or heat and travelled well. And that came at exactly the right moment as Bel had ambitions that went way beyond Lons-le-Saunier. “After the Great War the town counted around 13 000 inhabitants,” says Gérard Chappez, the author of an A to Z about Lons-le-Saunier published by editions Sutton. “It was the Jura Prefecture, a dynamic town packed with shops and industry as well as being the administrative centre of the department. It was the perfect spot for the Bel Company, which got the salt it needed to mature its cheese from the Montmorot salt mine; and there was also a railway station which meant they could dispatch their products easily.”

From Léon Bel to Benjamin Rabier or how to create an eye-catching logo In this favourable context the Fromage Moderne dear to the heart of Bel saw the light of day. And at the same time he heard Clapson’s music La Wachkyrie accompanied by its leaflet and these few words, “a souvenir of the war.” Above all, he saw the drawing of Rabier’s famous cow, the symbol of the RVF. If Archimedes hadn’t pre-empted the expression for all eternity it’s easy to imagine Léon giving vent to a huge Eureka. His Fromage Moderne would fit the bill, all the more so if it was called The laughing cow®. Jackpot!

On 6th April 1921 Bel officially registered the trade mark, The laughing cow®. For the illustration he uncapped his best pen and got down to work. He drew a cow standing with her udders showing, white on a red background, with her mouth wide open in the guise of a smile. In fact, it gave the impression that she was mooing rather than smiling. Drawing is a skill in itself and not everybody’s Rabier. The cow was lacking that little something. She could very well be saying: “It’s no problem giving milk when you know it’s going to be put to good use,” but it was Bel was aware of this. If he had any aspirations to be an artist they difficult to identify with her, to humanise her, to feel empathy. soon faded. After a year he decided to call in professionals to bring the logo to life. And among the applicants was none other than Benjamin Rabier! As a way of bringing things the full circle Bel chose his proposal, which he bought for 1000 francs at the time. It was a fair reward for a job that no one could have imagined being so difficult. “I spent nights without sleep trying to make a cow laugh,” said Rabier afterwards.

Whatever! It was an excellent choice as the cow’s face now looked much better: mischievous with slightly crinkled eyes and an attractive open smile. She was perfect, almost the same as she is today even if over a century the drawing has been refined and slightly modified to follow society’s trends. The curves have been rounded, the horns have lost their sharpness while the cow’s face has become whiter over time. Such are the ways of men and cows! The shape may change but the basics never do. The laughing cow® from the 1920s was already programmed to go out and conquer the world!

Mischievous crinkled eyes

9