The Laughing Cow®, more than 90 years and still smiling

Whether it's called La Vache qui rit® in France, Die Lachende Kuh® in Germany or Con bo cuoi® in Vietnam, The Laughing Cow® always brings smiles and eating pleasure to consumers. Bel's founding brand has lost none of its vitality 90 years after it was created.

History

Bel’s historic brand, The Laughing Cow® was born in Léon Bel’s French cheese plant in 1921, marking a revolution for consumers. Here was the first processed cheese available in individual wedges that could be preserved and easily carried thanks to its unique aluminum wrapped packaging. Another unique characteristic was its hilarious cow logo designed by illustrator Benjamin Rabier. Success came swiftly and in 1929, building on its smooth taste and cutting-edge advertising, the cheese in the round box was rolled out in international markets.

The Laughing Cow® today

Present in 136 countries, The Laughing Cow® has become a virtual icon, particularly in France where a museum, La Maison de La vache qui rit® (The Laughing Cow House), is dedicated to the brand. Visitors to the site can learn about the brand’s history and its defining values of conviviality, humor and innovation. While The Laughing Cow® is a universal brand, it remains open to meeting the specific needs of its customers, with vitamin-D and calcium enriched recipes offered in some markets and low-fat and low-sodium versions available in others. Today, The Laughing Cow® can be purchased in a number of clever formats like Pik & Croq® and Cheez Dippers®, which consist of breadsticks for dipping into an accompanying serving of melted The Laughing Cow® cheese

The Laughing Cow® around the world

Sold in 136 countries on five continents, The Laughing Cow® adapts to consumer tastes everywhere, with creamy red TLC in Morocco, cinnamon cream TLC in the US and pepper TLC in the Czech Republic, to cite but a few examples.

4th

best-selling cheese brand

No.1

fan: Algeria

15 production units around the world

Anecdote

Ninety years after its creation, it remains a mystery as to why The Laughing Cow® is laughing, but we do know the origin of her name. During World War I, her creator, Léon Bel, was inspired after seeing a troop meat wagon nicknamed La Wachkyrie, a play on the word Valkyrie, thus giving rise to La vache qui rit®, the original French for The Laughing Cow®