Babybel

Babybel (/ˈbæbɪbɛl/) is a brand of small snack cheese products that are individually packaged and available in various flavors. It is a product of Le Groupe Bel (French for 'The Bel Group'), a company with roots in the Jura region of France, and started by Jules Bel in 1865.[1] Half of the global production of Mini Babybel is made in Évron, a commune in the north west of France.[2] Le Groupe Bel has produced Babybel cheeses in the United States in Kentucky since 1970.[3]

Babybel cheeses

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 their first Canadian office would be in Quebec, and that the company had 12,700 employees, in thirty subsidiaries around the world.[5]

Product

Mini Babybel is known for its packaging, consisting of a netted bag in which each piece of cheese is encased in a coloured natural Paraffin wax skin. Numerous flavors of Mini Babybel are offered across the world.

The skin being removed from a Babybel cheese

Flavors (with corresponding wrapping and/or skin colours)
  • Cheddar – Black (CA, US),[6] Orange (AU), Purple (ES, FI, UK, NO, SE, DK)
  • Edam – Red (UK, AU, FI, FR, DE, NL, PL, IT, US, CA, ES, BE, NO, SK, SE, DK)
  • Edam Light – Red with Blue (AU, FR, UK, and US)
  • Emmental – Yellow (ES, GR, and DE; CA – Discontinued)
  • Swiss - Yellow (CA – new taste)[6]
  • Gouda – Brown (US & CA), Yellow (UK), Orange (US, CA & NO)
  • Mozzarella – Green (CA & US)[6]
  • Sharp Original – Purple (US)
  • Light - Sponsored by WeightWatchers[7] (CA)
  • Goat's Cheese – Green (United Kingdom – discontinued, Canada – Discontinued, France)

Products
  • Babybel Maxi – Edam Only (FR)
  • Babybel Tranches – Edam Only (FR, BE)

Mini Babybel
  • Mini Babybel (BE, CA, DE, ES, EE, FI, FR, GR, IT, NL, PL, PT, UK, US, SK)
  • Mini Babybel Mini Roulés/Enrollados – Edam only (FR, ES)
  • Mini Babybel Cheese & Crackers – Edam, Edam Light and White Cheddar (US, PT)

Advertising

Outside the United States, 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.

As of 2012, a recording of the song "Get in Line" by I'm from Barcelona has been used in their European 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.[8][9]

References
  1. "A BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT THE BEL SAGA". Le Groupe Bel.
  2. Robin, Claire (2018-08-08). "Agroalimentaire. Bel voit grand pour son mini Babybel en Mayenne". Ouest-France. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  3. Hall, Trish (1987-04-22). "American Beckons to Foreign Foods". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  4. "Brookings Mini Babybel cheese plant part of South Dakota push to boost dairies, milk products". foxbusiness.com. March 5, 2016.
  5. https://globalnews.ca/news/4329762/mini-babybel-plant-quebec/
  6. "Mini Babybel® : The perfect snack". Babybel UK. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  7. "Hungry Girl Goes... In Search of "2 for 1" Snacks (PointsPlus® Bargain Combos!)". www.weightwatchers.com. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
  8. Chrisafis, Angelique (8 August 2012). "Babybel maker apologises for 'clumsy' gaffe". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  9. "Campaigners call for Babybel boycott after mental illness 'insult'". The Independent (UK). 9 August 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
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