Andy Montoya
Babybel is a popular snack cheese produced by the French company Le Groupe Bel. The original, classic Mini Babybel is a French cheese inspired by the Dutch recipe for Edam. The cheese is encased in wax, making it a portable snack with an impressive shelf life. While Babybel has a tangy and tart flavour, it is also creamy and mild, making it a versatile option for pairing with fruits, crackers, or even enjoying on its own. Babybel has also released a variety of flavours, including a Swiss flavour, which combines the pronounced fruity taste of classic Swiss cheese with the mild taste of Babybel.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Flavour | Original, Swiss, Cheddar, Orange, Yellow, Dark Green, Plant-based |
| Texture | Creamy |
| Taste | Mild, tangy, nutty, fruity |
| Colour | Red, orange, yellow, dark green |
| Shape | Circle |
| Coating | Wax |
| Type of milk | Cow's milk, buffalo milk, coconut oil |
| Nutrition | 4g of protein, calcium |
| Storage | Unopened package can be stored for several weeks without refrigeration |
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What You'll Learn
Babybel Swiss Flavour
Babybel is a brand of small, snack-sized cheese products that are individually packaged and available in various flavours. The original, most popular, Mini Babybel is an Edam-style cheese made from pasteurised milk, salt, vegetarian rennet, and lactic ferments. It is made using traditional Edam-making processes, with rennet from vegetarian sources. The classic Mini Babybel is a French cheese inspired by the Dutch recipe for Edam.
Babybel cheeses are encased in wax, with each variety having a distinct colour. The original variety is encased in red wax, making it easily recognisable. The Babybel Variety Packs feature an assortment of Babybel's iconic mini cheeses, each coated in its signature red wax. The Dark Green Babybel, for example, contains a low-moisture, commercial-grade mozzarella with a mild, delicate flavour and a hint of sweetness.
Babybel cheeses are convenient and playful snacks that are perfect for on-the-go consumption. They are known for their unique packaging, with each piece of cheese encased in a blend of coloured waxes and a cellophane wrapper. Babybel offers a range of flavours to cater to different tastes and dietary preferences, including vegan and lactose-intolerant options.
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Babybel's history
Babybel is a brand of small, snack-sized cheese products that are individually packaged and available in various flavours. The original, most popular, Mini Babybel is an Edam-style cheese, inspired by the Dutch recipe for Edam, and is made from pasteurised milk, vegetarian rennet, lactic ferments, and salt. It is made using traditional Edam-making processes, except that rennet from vegetarian sources is used instead of animal sources.
The Mini Babybel is produced by Le Groupe Bel (French for 'The Bel Group'), a company with roots in the Jura region of France, started by Jules Bel in 1865. Presently, Le Groupe Bel produces 50% of its global output in Évron, a commune in the northwest of France. In the United States, Le Groupe Bel produces Mini Babybel cheeses in Kentucky, South Dakota, and Illinois, where its US business is headquartered. Outside of the US, the company has 30 subsidiaries around the world and a production facility in Quebec, Canada.
In 1970, The Bel Group entered the American market by purchasing the Avalon Cheese plant in Leitchfield, Kentucky. The Leitchfield plant began producing Mini Babybel waxed semi-soft cheeses in 1974. In 1996, Fromageries Bel and WisPride joined forces with Kaukauna Cheese to form Bel/Kaukauna U.S.A. in Little Chute, Wisconsin. In 2006, Bel Brands USA moved its corporate headquarters from the manufacturing facility in Little Chute to Elk Grove Village, Illinois, before relocating to downtown Chicago in 2011.
Babybel's advertising jingle, based on the song "Barbara Ann" by The Regents, was introduced in France in the late 1970s and later spread to other parts of Europe and French-Canada by the start of the 1990s. In the UK, Babybel's advertising slogan during the late 1990s and early 2000s was "Too tasty to share". In 2012, a recording of the song "Get in Line" by I'm from Barcelona, featuring a children's choir, was used in their adverts.
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Babybel's ingredients
Babybel cheese is made from a variety of ingredients, depending on the type of Babybel. The Original Babybel, the most popular variety, is made from pasteurized milk, salt, bacterial culture, calcium chloride, and microbial enzymes. It is an Edam-style cheese, made using traditional Edam-making processes with vegetarian rennet and lactic ferments. This variety is produced in Évron, France, and in Kentucky and South Dakota in the United States.
Babybel also makes a Plant-Based variety, which is dairy-free and vegan. The ingredients in this variety are water, modified food starch, coconut oil, calcium citrate, salt, natural flavor, citric acid, beta-carotene (for color), and cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12). This variety is designed to taste like mozzarella and has a soft, smooth, and creamy texture.
The Babybel Original is a semi-soft cheese that is mild, creamy, and tasty. It is marketed as a fun, healthy, and delicious snack, providing the nutritional benefits of dairy products. Each Babybel Original is coated in a famous red wax shell and contains 4 grams of protein.
The Babybel Plant-Based variety is lactose-free and certified plant-based, providing a new way to snack for those who are vegan or dairy-intolerant. This variety is packaged in signature green Babybel cheese cello wrapping.
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Babybel's marketing
Babybel is a well-known and well-loved snack cheese, produced by the French company Le Groupe Bel. The original, classic Mini Babybel is a French cheese inspired by the Dutch recipe for Edam. The cheese is marketed as a playful snack for any occasion, perfect for a lunchbox or an after-school treat. The cheese is wrapped in a signature red wax coating, which contributes to its impressive shelf life. The wax means that the cheese stays fresh for weeks, even without refrigeration.
The marketing for Babybel focuses on the convenience and versatility of the product. The cheese is described as "playful", "smooth and delicious", "mild and creamy", and "versatile". The small, portable size of the Mini Babybels is emphasised, as well as the convenience of the wax coating, which makes it easy to eat – just pull, peel and reveal the cheese. The product is targeted at parents, with a warning to cut the cheese into bite-sized pieces for children under four, and at cheese lovers who want a snack on the go.
Babybel also markets its product as 100% real cheese, with no artificial growth hormones, artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. The company also offers a variety of flavours, including a Swiss flavour, which combines the fruity taste of Swiss cheese with the mild taste of Babybel. Other flavours include Cheddar, Orange (made with young Gouda), Yellow (made with Emmental), Dark Green (made with low-moisture mozzarella), and a plant-based option coated in a dark green wrapper.
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Babybel's nutritional value
Babybel is a French cheese marketed by the company Le Groupe Bel, which was originally started by Jules Bel in the Jura region of France in 1865. The classic Mini Babybel is inspired by the Dutch recipe for Edam, a pressed uncooked cheese with subtle sweet notes of grass and nuttiness. Traditional Edam is not tangy or tart, but Babybel cheeses are.
Babybel's Original Cheese Snack is a 100% semi-soft cheese that is mild, creamy, and delicious. It contains 4g of protein and is a good source of calcium. It has no artificial growth hormones, artificial colours, flavours, or preservatives. The ingredients listed are pasteurized cultured milk, salt, and microbial enzymes.
Babybel also offers a variety of other flavours, including:
- Orange Babybel: made with young Gouda, a semi-hard cheese with a mild, slightly nutty flavour.
- Yellow Babybel: made with Emmental, a semi-hard cheese with a smooth, slightly elastic texture and a mild, nutty flavour.
- Dark Green Babybel: made with low-moisture, commercial-grade Mozzarella, this version has a mild, delicate flavour with a hint of sweetness.
- Green Babybel: a plant-based option made with coconut oil, coated in a dark green wrapper with a leafy motif.
Babybel also offers a variety pack that includes three flavours of Babybel cheese, individually wrapped for convenience. These cheese wheels are encased in the signature red wax coating, making them a playful and portable snack for any occasion.
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Frequently asked questions
Babybel cheese is a brand of small, snack cheese products that are individually packaged and available in various flavours. The original flavour is a mild, creamy, and lactose-free Edam-style cheese.
Babybel has a variety pack that includes a Swiss flavour. This combines the pronounced fruity taste of classic Swiss cheese with the mild taste of Babybel.
Babybel offers a variety of flavours, including Cheddar, Mozzarella, Monterey Jack, and Gouda. They also have a plant-based option coated in a dark green wrapper.
