The Laughing Cow®, sharing laughters for 100 years

Whether it is called The Laughing Cow® in the United States, La vaca que rie® in Spain or Con bo cuoi® in Vietnam, The Laughing Cow® inspires its consumers to choose to laugh at life. 100 years after her birth, our laughing icon continues to defend the superpower of laughter around the world.

Because it's better to laugh

Once upon a time The Laughing Cow®...

The Laughing Cow® was born in 1921 in the Léon Bel factory in France. For consumers, it was a revolution: the first portioned processed cheese that could be easily preserved and transported, thanks to its unique aluminium packaging. Another new feature was the hilarious cow-shaped logo illustrated by Benjamin Rabier. Following the immediate success, in 1929, the round box began to be sold abroad with its unique taste and creamy texture.

Today, the Laughing Cow’s house (Maison de la Vache qui rit®), located in the Jura region of France, invites us to discover its history and its values of positivity, conviviality and humor.

The Laughing Cow® today

Sold in 120 countries across 5 continents, the brand offers 110 different recipes to satisfy the local needs of its consumers.

The Laughing Cow® caters to the nutritional needs of various populations. In some markets, it offers products enriched with vitamin D and calcium, while in other markets, it offers products with low salt and fat content.

The brand also knows how to adapt to its consumers tastes and desires – It has introduced organic products in some countries and different flavors such as Creamy Red Cheese in Morocco or cheddar in the USA.

The Laughing Cow® around the world

Anecdote

100 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®.

Since laughter is part of the brand’s DNA, our laughing icon continues to advocate the need for laughter daily and promises to do so for the next 100 years!

The Laughing Cow is 100 years old and still laughing! According to a study conducted by the Laughter Observatory and our favorite cow, those over 50 years of age are 25% more likely to consider that the older we get, the more we laugh.

Laughter is also a powerful social driver: for nearly 3 out of 4 people, laughing allows them to make new friends and nearly 9 out of 10 people say they admire those who master this skill.

(source: CSA research, October 2019, Survey no. 1900729)

The Laughing Cow® commits

To maintain its vitality for the next 100 years, The Laughing Cow® is aware of the need to respect the environment and to continue to adapt to the changing consumer expectations.

A food that meets the specific expectations of its consumers:
Organic cheese in France, Simply range in the Middle East.

The fight against food waste:
Partnership with Too Good to Go® and signature of the Pact on Minimum Sustainability Dates.

The promotion of dietary diversity:
Cheese recipes based on vegetable milk in France.
Solidarity actions:
Partnership withlocal NGOs in several countries (e.g Le rire médecin in France);
Solidarity day on 04/16/2020 : Donation of the equivalent of one day’s production to help hospitals and vulnerable people.

The Laughing Cow in 2022

The Laughing Cow is changing! In Spain, it has less fat and salt, but more protein and calcium.

In Egypt, The Laughing Cow Spread was first launched through e-commerce. For this, Bel entered into an exclusive partnership with Talabat Mart, one of the leaders in home delivery. The launch benefited from a dedicated activation plan deployed on all the partner’s platforms and social networks, maximizing the impact and success of the operation.

Internationally, a major contract was signed with Bridor on a puff pastry made with The Laughing Cow.