The Laughing Cow

La Vache qui Rit (The Laughing Cow)
Country of origin	France (produced worldwide)
Region, town	Jura
Source of milk	Cows
Pasteurised	Yes
Texture	semi-soft
Aging time	made from aged cheeses, but not aged itself
Certification	trademarked brand name

The Laughing Cow (French: La vache qui rit) is a brand of cheese products made by Fromageries Bel, and in particular refers to the brand's most popular product, the spreadable wedge.

The product

The cheese is a blend of cream, milk and fresh and aged cheeses, particularly comté, which are pasteurized to stop the ripening process. Versatile and portable because of its pasteurization process, Laughing Cow can remain unrefrigerated for a limited length of time. The archetypal Laughing Cow cheese comes wrapped in the individual serving-sized foiled wedges, and they are packaged in a round, flat box. Consumers have to pull a little red thread around the box to open it, and the foil packaging also features a red tab for opening. In various worldwide markets, it is served as squares, rectangles, slices (in mainland Europe, marketed under Toastinette), bite-sized cubes, pods (aimed at younger children) and in spreadable tubs. The Laughing Cow is also available in "cheese dippers", a snack consisting of cheese and breadsticks, which are marketed as The Laughing Cow Cheez Dippers (or Pik & Croq in mainland Europe), and these are in four varieties; original, light, hazelnut and pizza. In 2009, Laughing Cow introduced a TV commercial where the company introduced a new slogan, Have you laughed today? In 2010 they updated the brand's website to include cheese recipes.

A wedge of Original Creamy Swiss

Laughing Cow cheese is available in its original flavor, a light version with 7% fat, and an ultra-light version with 3% fat. In addition, flavored versions of the cheese (such as ham, gruyère, garlic, paprika, mushroom, chèvre, bleu, hazelnut, pizza and onion) are also available in various markets worldwide. Bite-size cubes of Laughing Cow are flavoured in various countries and are designed to be eaten with alcoholic drinks at parties; these cubes are marketed under Cheez & Fun in many European countries, and also Apéricube in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, PartyCubes in Canada, and Belcube in Japan and South Korea. They are produced in 24- or 48-cube boxes of one flavour, e.g., bleu, ham, salmon, chilli pepper and olive, or they are produced in 24- or 48-cube boxes of a particular theme, e.g., Cocktails du Monde, Petites Recettes, Tex-Mex and Indian.

Evolution of the brand

The Laughing Cow is red and jovial, and is almost always depicted wearing earrings that look like the round boxes the cheese comes in. On April 16, 1921, Leon Bel trademarked his brand, called "La Vache qui rit," in France. In the trademark, the cow is said to have a hilarious expression. Bel had made the original drawing himself, after seeing a travelling meat wagon during World War I called "La Wachkyrie," a play on the word for Valkyrie. In the beginning she wasn't laughing, she wasn't red and she didn't wear earrings. This patent was the very first branded cheese product registered in France. In 1924, Benjamin Rabier, a famous illustrator, edited the drawing into something more like the image that prevails today. The blue and white stripes around the box date from 1955. Since 1976 both earring-boxes have been shown with the top-side visible. Before that year consumers were shown a top and bottom side. The current logo uses a Droste effect.

Worldwide popularity

The Laughing Cow (CowParade Prague 2004)

It has long been popular in the United Kingdom as a children's snack.^{[citation needed]} The cheese has also been a constant, but hardly popular product in the United States for a number of years. However, demand for the triangular wedges has skyrocketed recently, since the light version of the product was suggested as a viable menu item to followers of the South Beach Diet. The question asked by the French, "Pourquoi La Vache Qui Rit rit?" ("Why is The Laughing Cow laughing?") has become synonymous with the product.^{[citation needed]}

Groupe Bel announced on October 2, 2005, that they plan to open a 13 million euro factory in Syria. This was the first such direct investment in that nation by a French food company.

The product is localized by name nearly everywhere it is sold. Depending on where one is, it can be known as:

• The Laughing Cow in English-speaking countries
• Die lachende Kuh in German-speaking countries except Switzerland where it's known as La vache qui rit
• البقرة الضاحكة (Al-Baqara Ad-Dahika) in Arabic-speaking countries (It is also often sold under the French name, La Vache Qui Rit)
• Veselá kráva in the Czech Republic
• Krówka Śmieszka in Poland
• La vaca que ríe in Spanish-speaking countries
• A vaca que ri in Portuguese-speaking countries
• Весела Корівка in (Vesela Korivka) in Ukraine
• Весёлая Бурёнка (Vessiolaia Bourionka) in Russia
• Den Skrattande Kon in Sweden
• Den leende ko in Denmark
• La Vache Qui rit in Belgium
• La Vache Qui rit in Greece
• Η Αγελάδα που Γελά (I Agelada pou Yela) in Cyprus
• La Vache Qui rit Gülen İnek in Turkey
• La Vache Qui Rit in Canada
• 乐芝牛 in China
• 笑牛牌 in Hong Kong
• Ilay omby vavy mifaly in Madagascar
• La Vache Qui Rit in France
• ラフィングカウ (Rafingu Kau) in Japan
• La Mucca che ride in Italy
• Con Bò Cười in Vietnam

among other names.

Other associations

• The product name and indicia were adopted by the crew of World War II German submarine U-69, whose sinking of the SS Robin Moor was significant to US entry into World War II
• "La Vache qui Rit" is the name of an EP by late 1980s Washington, D.C., punk band Rain with connection to Dischord Records.
• Le Vache qui Rit is the name of a 1982 EP by UK Anarchist Punk band Zounds.
• "La Vache Qui Rit" is the name of a finishing move in the 1994 video game Primal Rage. The character Vertigo will move up to an opponent and transform them into a cow, which makes a disconcerted "moo" as it runs away.
• Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is often jokingly referred to as 'La Vache qui Rit' because of his supposed resemblance to the cheese's logo.
• La vache qui lit ("The reading cow") is the children's book prize of the city of Zürich, and a children's book program in the Auvergne region of France.

See also

• Emmi AG - manufacturer of Swiss Knight brand of spreadable cheese wedges

External links

• The Laughing Cow at The Bel Group's web site
• The Laughing Cow Brand site features cheese recipes and snack cheese information
• La Vache qui rit official site (French)