Prepare for a nice surprise if you regularly eat The Laughing Cow, Boursin or Kiri: these very popular cheeses are going to undergo a significant change for ecological reasons.
Round cardboard packaging, in blue and white tones and displaying a red cow with a big smile… Everyone knows the packaging of The Laughing Cow, even if they don’t eat it. For good reason, it has been more than a hundred years since the cheese, created in 1921 in the Jura, has been consumed in France, by young and old alike! To the point of becoming a real part of the culture of our country, a childhood memory for many people!
And its success is not limited to our regions, since it is one of the most consumed cheeses in the world! The Laughing Cow is distributed in no less than 136 countries on five continents. According to its manufacturer, 125 servings are consumed per second worldwide. Suffice to say that this may be strange to consumers when they discover its new packaging…
Don’t panic, the bovine will always remain red, with its sublime earrings and its mocking smile. However, the Bel cheese group, also known for its Kiri, Babybel and Boursin brands, is preparing to make a historic change in the packaging of all of its cheeses. Indeed, faced with the ecological challenge that we face, the firm wants to give up aluminum, which is too polluting, to switch to 100% recyclable or biodegradable paper.
Bel will tackle Kiri first, with its famous square aluminum packaging. After four years of research, the new paper packaging will make its debut in France. The company will first test the new packaging to consumers in the coming months and, depending on feedback, it will be deployed in stores from 2026. HAS Ultimately, all the packaging of the group’s products, including The Laughing Cow, should also be made available in paper form in the coming years and for the entire world.
Contrary to what one might think, this is not an anecdotal change. On the contrary, it is a large-scale project, which requires investing tens of millions of euros! Because you need to be able to find, for each product, packaging that is both protective and easy to open, for children and adults alike. And, above all, invest in new industrial machines capable of producing the new packaging.
At the same time, Bel will test a second initiative from April 2025 in mass distribution stores, bulk. Thus, customers will be able to fill a reusable glass jar with Laughing Cow, Pom’Potes or even aperitif cheeses directly from the machines installed in points of sale located in the Paris region, Normandy and the Jura. It remains to be seen whether this will not disturb the consumer too much.