Lefèvre-Utile, better known worldwide by the initials LU, was a French

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or Production (economics), production of goods with the help of equipment, Work (human activity), labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary se ...

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

biscuit A biscuit is a flour-based baked food item. Biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be savoury, similar to crackers. ...

s, emblematic of the city of

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

. The brand is now part of US confectionery company

Mondelēz International Mondelēz International, Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational confectionery, food industry, food, Holding company, holding, drink industry, beverage and snack food company based in Chicago. Mondelez has an annual rev ...

since 2012, after splitting of its previous owner Kraft Foods Inc., which had acquired it as part of its acquisition from

Groupe Danone Danone S.A. () is a French multinational food-products corporation based in Paris. It was founded in 1919 in Barcelona, Spain. It is listed on Euronext Paris, where it is a component of the CAC 40 stock market index. Some of the company's produ ...

in 2007. The Petit-Beurre biscuit remains the flagship product alongside the Ladyfinger, Champagne, Petit four, Prince de LU, Pim's, Paille d'Or, etc.

History

Lefèvre-Utile was founded in Nantes, in 1846 by Jean-Romain Lefèvre. Originally he sold biscuits from the English factory Huntley & Palmers and then he began his own production. The name comes from Lefèvre and his business partner and wife, Pauline-Isabelle Utile. Their initials were first utilized by

Alfons Mucha Alfons Maria Mucha (; 24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939), known internationally as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech painter, illustrator, and graphic artist. Living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period, he was widely known for his distinctly stylized ...

for an 1897

calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A calendar date, date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is ...

ad for the "Lefèvre-Utile Biscuit Co." That same year the company hired Firmin Bouisset to create a

poster A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...

ad. Bouisset, already noted for his work for the Menier Chocolate company, created ''Petit Écolier'' ("the Little Schoolboy") which incorporated the LU initials. Bouisset's poster was used extensively and the image was embossed on the company's Petit Beurre line of biscuits. Within a few years, the success of the logo resulted in the company becoming known as LU. The founder's son, Louis Lefèvre-Utile, took over the company and eventually it was acquired by Générale Biscuit S.A., which in turn was acquired by

in 1986. Although an international brand today, LU products are primarily distributed in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

, and in 2005 represented nearly half of the sales for Danone's biscuits and cereal division. In July 2007, LU was sold to Kraft Foods (now

Mondelez International Mondelēz International, Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational confectionery, food industry, food, Holding company, holding, drink industry, beverage and snack food company based in Chicago. Mondelez has an annual rev ...

Gallery

Image:Petit Beurre LU.JPG, Petit Beurre biscuit, 1886 Image:Alfons Mucha - 1896 - Biscuits Champagne-Lefèvre-Utile.jpg, Advertisement for LU Champagne Biscuits, Alfons Mucha, 1896 File:Alfons Mucha - 1896 - Biscuits Lefèvre-Utile.jpg, Advertisement for ''Biscuits Lefèvre-Utile'', Alfons Mucha, 1897 Image:Musée Nantes - Gammes biscuits LU.JPG, A display of various LU biscuits File:Hippolyte Berteaux - Breton icon.jpg, ''La Bretonne'', painted by Hippolyte Berteaux upon request of Lefèvre-Utile Image:Statue de Chappe à Paris.jpg, A postcard showing a painted sign for LU biscuits in the background of this Paris street scene with a statue of inventor

Claude Chappe Claude Chappe (; 25 December 1763 – 23 January 1805) was a French inventor who in 1792 demonstrated a practical semaphore line, semaphore system that eventually spanned all of France. His system consisted of a series of towers, each within l ...

, 1908

References

External links

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Evolution of the LU logo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lefevre-Utile Food and drink companies established in 1846 Food manufacturers of France Nantes Mondelez International brands Biscuit brands French companies established in 1846 Companies based in Pays de la Loire 2007 mergers and acquisitions

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links