sources . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . august 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message groupe bel type private industry cheese founded 1865 key people antoine fi vet ceo website www.bel group.com the bel group a.k.a. groupe bel or fromageries bel in french is a multinational cheese marketer centered in france . contents 1 overview 2 history 3 bel group brands 4 bel s corporate foundation 5 lab bel 6 references 7 see also 8 external links overview edit the bel group is headquartered at 2 all e de longchamp in suresnes paris . 1 it manufactures and distributes processed and semi processed cheeses frequently packaged in individual portions . the company tablissements jules bel was founded in 1865 in orgelet in the department of the jura . the laughing cow babybel kiri leerdammer boursin are bel s five core brands that are distributed on five continents . as of 2015 the bel group is established in 33 countries and its products are sold in 130 countries . citation needed history edit the company was founded in 1865 under the name of tablissements jules bel in orgelet by jules bel . 2 by 1921 his son l on bel registered the laughing cow brand . 3 eight years later in 1929 he created its first subsidiary in the uk . by 1933 another subsidiary was established in belgium . in 1947 the bonbel brand was launched . three years later in 1950 the company acquired port salut which had been founded in 1816 . by 1952 it launched babybel . a new subsidiary was established in germany in 1959 . six years later in 1965 another subsidiary was established in spain ; it would later become known as bel espa a. bel spain . the kiri brand was launched in 1966 . meanwhile a year later in 1967 another subsidiary was established in the netherlands ; it would later become known as bel nederland bel netherlands . the following year in 1968 les fromageries picon merged with the company . by 1970 a new subsidiary was established in the usa . two years later in 1972 it acquired samos and launched sylphide . the following year in 1973 it acquired crowson in the uk later to become known as bel uk . that same year it also established a subsidiary in switzerland later to become known as bel suisse bel switzerland . a year later in 1974 it established a subsidiary in morocco later known as sialim . in 1976 it acquired the soci t anonyme des fermiers r unis safr and its subsidiaries . by 1977 it acquired an italian company later to become known as bel cademartori . it also launched mini babybel . a year later in 1978 it acquired another company in sweden later to become known as bel sverige bel sweden . by 1989 it acquired the adler company in germany later to become known as bel adler edelcreme . it then launched the mini bonbel in 1990 . a year later in 1991 it acquired the maredsous company in belgium . three years later in 1994 it acquired the cademartori company in italy later to become known as bel cademartori in 2001 . it also acquired the queser as ib ricas company in spain . by 1996 it acquired the lacto ib rica company in portugal limiano terra nostra and the kaukauna company in the usa later known as bel kaukauna . in 1998 it established a subsidiary in egypt bel egypt and acquired the middle east food industry later known as the bel egypt food company . it also acquired kraft chorzele in poland later to become known as bel polska bel poland . additionally it launched mini babybel in maasdam . by 2000 it acquired the zeletavska syrarna company in the czech republic zeletava apetitto and the zempmilk company in slovakia karicka . the following year in 2001 it established a subsidiary in algeria known as bel algeria . a year later in 2002 it acquired the assets of merkts and owl s nest through its us based subsidiary bel kaukauna . it also acquired syrokrem in slovakia and established subsidiaries in greece bel hellas cheese company and in tunisia bel tunisia . additionally it terminated the production of soft cheese by the safr . it also acquired the dutch leerdammer group and its european subsidiaries based in germany france italy the united kingdom belgium and the czech republic . it also acquired fromagerie boursin from unilever . in 2003 it terminated the activities of manchego through its queser as ib ricas subsidiary . two years later in 2005 it terminated the activities carried out under the cademartori brand . meanwhile it established subsidiary in syria known as bel syria . by 2009 it changed its logo . in 2015 it acquired 70 % of safilait a cheese company in morocco . 4 bel group brands edit adler edelcr me ap ricube partycubes belcube cheese & fun 1960 babybel 1952 full size ; 1977 mini bonbel 1947 boursin 2007 cantadou cousteron kari ka karper 2006 kaukauna kiri 1966 leerdammer 2002 limiano maredsous merkts picon port salut price s r gal picon smetanito elatava sylphide syrokr m terra nostra toastinette the laughing cow 1921 le v ritable port salut 1950 wispride bel s corporate foundation edit bel s foundation logo bel s corporate foundation was created in may 2008 by the bel group and its reference shareholder unibel . the bel foundation was created to promote a balanced diet and preserving the environment as far as it is required for a healthy diet . rather than support big initiatives the foundation supports a number of projects around the world . lab bel edit lab bel s logo lab bel is bel s art laboratory inaugurated in the spring of 2010 and sponsored by the group and its main shareholder unibel . heading up lab bel are artist laurent fi vet a member of the bel family and silvia guerra an art critic and exhibit curator . since its founding bel has supported artists such as illustrators benjamin rabier who designed the laughing cow francisque poulbot known for his iconic drawings of parisian children and celebrated animator paul grimault . bel sponsors a museum dedicated to its legendary cow la maison de la vache qui rit the laughing cow museum in lons le saunier which also houses special events hosted by lab bel . references edit financial times fromageries bel sa bel group company history a behind the scenes look at the bel saga elsa bembaron la vache qui rit h ro ne de la premi re guerre mondiale le figaro august 10 2012 le groupe bel rach te la troisi me laiterie marocaine boursorama 29 05 2015 see also edit companies portal food portal list of cheesemakers external links edit le groupe bel fondation bel retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title bel group & oldid 723454129 categories cheesemakersfood and drink companies of francehidden categories articles lacking sources from august 2012all articles lacking sourcesall articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from august 2012 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages catal deutschfran aisnederlands edit links this page was last modified on 3 june 2016 at 04 19 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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