Babybel
Mini Babybel (/ˈbæbɪbɛl/) is a brand of small snack cheese products that are individually packaged and available in various flavours. It is a product of Le Groupe Bel (Error: {{language with name/for}}: missing language tag or language name (help)), a company with roots in the Jura region of France, started by Jules Bel in 1865.[1] Half of the global production of Mini Babybel is made in Évron, a commune in the northwest of France.[2]
In the United States Le Groupe Bel produces the Mini Babybel cheeses in Kentucky.[3] In March 2016, Bel Brands USA opened a new plant in Brookings, South Dakota. At the time, Bel Brands projected that its 250 employees would produce 1.5 million Mini Babybel cheese wheels a day.[4] In July 2018, Le Groupe Bel announced that the company had 12,700 employees in 30 subsidiaries around the world and that their first Canadian office would be in Quebec.[5]
Product
Mini Babybel is known for its packaging, consisting of a netted bag in which each piece of cheese is encased in a blend of coloured paraffin and microcrystalline wax.[6] Numerous flavors of Mini Babybel are offered across the world.
Flavours (with corresponding wrapping colours)
| Flavour | Colour | References/comments |
|---|---|---|
| Edam | Red (all locations) | |
| Edam "light" | Red with light blue stripe or light blue (Australia, France, Spain, United Kingdom, Ireland United States of America, and Canada) | Sponsored by WeightWatchers in Canada [7] |
| Cheddar | Black (Canada and United States of America), Orange (Australia), and Purple (Spain, Finland, United Kingdom, Ireland Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium) | [8] |
| Emmental | Yellow (Canada – discontinued, Spain, Greece, Germany and Belgium) | |
| Gruyere | Yellow (Canada) | [8] |
| Gouda | Brown (United States of America and Canada), Yellow (United Kingdom and Ireland), and Orange (United States of America, Canada, and Norway) | |
| Mozzarella | Green (Canada, United States of America and Greece) | [8] |
| "Sharp Original" (cheese type unknown) | Magenta (United States of America) | |
| Goat's cheese | Green (United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada – discontinued, and France) | |
| "High Protein" | Black (Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy, Australia) | |
| "Vegan" | Green, with leaves (United States of America, United Kingdom and Canada) | Named "plant-based" in United Kingdom and Canada and appears in a pouch instead of a net |
Products
- Babybel Maxi – Edam Only (FR)
- Babybel Tranches – Edam Only (FR, BE)
Mini Babybel
- Mini Babybel (BE, CA, DE, ES, EE, FI, FR, GR, IE, IT, NL, PL, PT, UK, US, SK)
- Mini Babybel Mini Roulés/Enrollados/Mini Rolls – Edam only (FR, ES, IT)
- Mini Babybel Cheese & Crackers – Edam, Edam Light and White Cheddar (US, GR, PT)
Advertising
An advertising jingle associated with the product plays on the lyrics of the song "Barbara Ann" by The Regents. Use of said jingle started in France in the end of the 1970s, and then emerged to other parts of Europe and French-Canada by the start of the 1990s. They tout the product as an "always on the go and ready for anything" snack cheese.
The advertising for Babybel in the UK in the late 1990s and early 2000s had the slogan "Too tasty to share".
As of 2012, a recording of the song "Get in Line" by I'm from Barcelona has been used in their adverts, where the band rerecorded the song with a children's choir. In August 2012, there was controversy over its promotional use of the French slogan "Des vacances de malade mental" ("having a mental holiday", or literally "holidaying like a mentally ill person") which was deemed offensive to people with learning difficulties or mental illnesses.[9][10]
References
- ^ "A BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT THE BEL SAGA". Le Groupe Bel.
- ^ Robin, Claire (2018-08-08). "Agroalimentaire. Bel voit grand pour son mini Babybel en Mayenne". Ouest-France. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
- ^ Hall, Trish (1987-04-22). "American Beckons to Foreign Foods". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
- ^ "Brookings Mini Babybel cheese plant part of South Dakota push to boost dairies, milk products". foxbusiness.com. 5 March 2016.
- ^ "First Canadian Mini Babybel plant to be built in Quebec | Globalnews.ca".
- ^ "FAQ". Babybel. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
- ^ "Hungry Girl Goes... In Search of "2 for 1" Snacks (PointsPlus® Bargain Combos!)". www.weightwatchers.com. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^ a b c "Mini Babybel® : The perfect snack". Babybel UK. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^ Chrisafis, Angelique (8 August 2012). "Babybel maker apologises for 'clumsy' gaffe". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved 28 November 2013.
- ^ "Campaigners call for Babybel boycott after mental illness 'insult'". The Independent (UK). 9 August 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
External links
- Babybel websites: France, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Canada, United States
- Groupe Bel official website