The Bel Group, creators of The Laughing Cow, are transforming their portfolio to focus on hybrid products that blend milk proteins with plant-based ones. Plus, they have just launched their first 100%-plant-based brand.
The Bel group, known for brands like The Laughing Cow, Babybel, Boursin and Kiri, has decided to diversify. While the group isn’t going to turn its back on dairy products, it is enlarging the scope of its portfolio and starting down a plant-based path by launching a series of “hybrid” products pairing dairy and plants…. Even their world-famous Laughing Cow cheese – the group’s most iconic brand, with 5 billion wedges produced annually in 13 production plants around the world – now comes in a half-cow’s-milk, half-plant-milk version. By the same logic of moving towards more natural products, the group has announced that they are preparing a new, “simplified” Laughing Cow recipe, which will contain fewer ingredients and additives.
– A 100% Plant-Based Brand
Alongside the development of hybrid products, the group just launched Nurishh, its first 100%-plant-based brand. Born from the 2020 acquisition of the French company All in Foods’ range, Nurishh currently encompasses nine items, including plant-based products for cooking that come grated, sliced or in blocks. “Launching Nurishh marks a structural stage in Bel’s presence on the plant-based-protein market,” Cécile Béliot, the group’s Executive VP, declared.
“We are ambitious, and we also have both the know-how and the capacity for innovation to contribute to making plant-based foods truly accessible to everyone.”
Bel, which is aiming to position itself as the healthy snacking champion, plans to balance their portfolio between cheese, plant-based products, and fruit. As part of that strategy, the family-owned group recently announced that they have begun exclusive negotiations with Lactalis to sell them the Leerdammer brand, which originated in Holland. Still, they’re not going to abandon dairy products entirely. “Our healthy snacking concept is based on blending plant-based proteins with milk proteins. We have no plans to eliminate milk,” Cécile Béliot concludes.
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