We have driven in the area and stop by again, always worth it me think, This is memorable City of Blois in the Loir et Cher dept 41 of the Centre Val de Loire region of my belle France, There is so much to see , and did see more for you and me, I have written plenty on this City and do see my other post on the city! Therefore, here is my take on the former Poulain Chocolate Factory of Blois !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.
The former Poulain Chocolate Factory is located in the rue de la Chocolaterie in Blois, formerly known as the Villette or Poulainville factory, is a group of buildings built in the 19C for the Poulain company, one of the oldest French chocolate manufacturers. We happened to stayed in front of it!!
The story goes that in 1848, Victor Auguste Poulain launched his first chocolate factory in Blois and created his own brand. He then moved into the former home of the conjurer Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin,(see post on house magic) , located at 4 rue Porte-Chartraine. In 1851, Poulain bought his first chocolate grinding machine. In 1867, he built a new building to make chocolate and provide accommodation for his family. In 1872, he had the Château de la Villette built in the center of the estate, which served as a new home for his family. In 1879, with the demand for chocolate growing, Auguste Poulain installed a new building in the la Villette factory. Having taken over the management of the company, his son Albert Poulain decided in 1884 to have a new factory built, called “Beauséjour”, on the site of la Villette. On the night of 7 to 8 July 1918, a major fire completely destroyed this factory. It was finally rebuilt in 1918, just after the fire, at the request of Albert Poulain. In 1991, chocolate production moved north of Blois, to Villebarou 7 km away. The Beauséjour factory was finally demolished in 1995. The National Institute of Applied Sciences of Blois (INSA Centre-Val de Loire) currently occupies the premises redeveloped since the Foundation of the Val de Loire Engineering School in 1993 (Our hotel was right in front!) The apothecary Pailhasson created the first known chocolate factory in 1729 in Lourdes, other than the houses of Suchard (1826, founded in Switzerland) or Menier (1836), Poulain is one of the oldest brands of chocolate in France and, without doubt, the one that has contributed most to the commercial diffusion of chocolate in all levels of society.
The Château de La Villette was the main building of the industrial complex, due to its architecture and its position. The other buildings flank the “La Villette” factory and, the latter, has, in front of it a large alley which reinforces the idea of a castle with its wings. In addition, thanks to a fence made of a low wall and an ironwork grid, the factory was enclosed. The second building is the “Beauséjour” factory. This two-storys building, housing the cardboard, printing, grinding and mixing, is built of reinforced concrete. The last workshop, located on rue Gambetta, is also built of concrete. But unlike the other buildings, the concrete is only visible from the inside but not from the outside. It is also characterized by its flared columns.
After the acquisition in 1970 of a group of condiment companies (Maille, Grey Poupon and Parizot), Poulain decided to merge all these food brands into a single group, SEGMA (Société d’exploitation des grandes marques alimentaires). In 1978, Poulain and SEGMA were bought by Clin-Midy, then resold and integrated a year later into Jimmy Goldsmith’s Générale Occidentale (which owned, among others, the brands Amora, La Pie qui Chante, Carambar and Vandamme). Poulain came under the control of the British Cadbury in 1988. In 1995, it was grouped with Bouquet d’Or within Cadbury France, the new French subsidiary of the group, which has its headquarters in Blois. In 2010, Cadbury was bought by the multinational Kraft Foods. In 2012, following a split from Kraft Foods, Poulain belonged to the newly created Mondelez International group. In 2016, the French investment fund Eurazeo (I had done work for this group!) announced the acquisition of a large part of Mondelez’s brands (including Poulain, Carambar, Kréma and La Pie Qui Chante). The acquisition has been effective since May 2, 2017, with the creation of a subsidiary of Eurazeo, the company Carambar & Co. At the beginning of September 2024, a buyer was announced: the Andros group.
The City of Blois news on the takeover of Poulain by Andros : https://www.blois.fr/info/2024/11/poulain-andros
The official Chocolats Poulain : https://www.chocolatpoulain.fr/la-marque/
The local Blois-Chambord tourist office on its heritage: https://www.bloischambord.co.uk/tours-and-activities/our-heritage/visit-blois/
The city of Blois on its heritage: https://www.blois.fr/attractive/dix-bonnes-raisons-venir-blois
The Loir et Cher dept 41 tourist office on Blois : https://www.val-de-loire-41.com/destination-loir-et-cher/blois-la-ville-royale/
There you go folks, a dandy area to explore and enjoy with the family, Memorable moments in my belleFrance,going all over in my road warrior trails brings out sublime awesome spots with nice memorable family visits of yesteryear always remember and always looking forward to be back, eventually. Again hope you enjoy the post on the former Poulain Chocolate Factory of Blois !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 