Bel to invest in The Laughing Cow production in Spain
Bel Group is expanding the production of cheese brand The Laughing Cow in Spain.
The French group’s plant in Ulzama in northern Spain is getting €1.5m ($1.7m) to add a 600m² building with two packaging lines for its range of The Laughing Cow cheese.
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Bel said the move would boost annual output by 15%, lifting capacity to nearly 7,000 tonnes of The Laughing Cow – equivalent to about 500 million portions.
Construction has begun, with the new lines due to start operations in the first half of 2026.
Opened in 1968, the Ulzama plant produces The Laughing Cow cheese portions for customers in Spain and Portugal.
The facility, along with Bel’s Madrid office, together employ around 140 people.
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By GlobalDataThe company, meanwhile, has started the use of a biomass boiler at the Ulzama site.
Bel said the 700-kW unit replaces all fossil fuels for steam production and cuts CO₂ emissions by 500 tonnes a year.
Bel called the move an “important milestone” in its decarbonisation strategy.
Stéphane Dupays, Bel’s chief operations officer, said: “These two projects illustrate Bel’s two-leg model, where sustainability and profitability advance together. The Ulzama site is now powered by renewable energy and is expanding to support future growth.”
Bel is best known for brands like The Laughing Cow, Babybel, Boursin and Kiri.
It also produces fruit-based products through brands like Pom’Potes and GoGo squeeZ.
Earlier this month, Bel set a target of all its Babybel products being packed in recyclable paper packaging by 2027.
In August, Bel acquired a 22.5% stake in Indonesian cheese maker Mulia Boga Raya (MBR), a subsidiary of local group Garudafood, which retained majority ownership.
The partners aim to grow cheese consumption in Indonesia and create “tailored innovations”.
In the first half of 2025, Bel Group reported a fall in earnings despite seeing its sales rise as costs ate into its profitability.
The company saw its share of consolidated net profit drop by 5.4% on a reported basis to €45.8m.
Its recurring operating income was €125m in the first half, down 19.3% on the prior year.
However, consolidated net sales reached €1.86bn, marking a 3.2% organic increase, and 2% on a reported basis.
Bel said the growth was “driven by higher volumes and price increases” that offset “persistent inflation in raw materials in several markets”.
Volumes were impacted by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and increased consumer sensitivity to price pressures, the group added.
Its “core brands” put in a “robust performance”, Bel said. Kiri saw first-half sales rise 8.2%, Mini Babybel by 6.1% and Boursin by 7.3%.
Full-year sales in 2024 reached €3.74bn, up 3.4% organically and 2.6% on a reported basis. Recurring operating income rose 1.1% to €253m while Bel’s share of consolidated net profit dropped 23.4% to €53m.
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