Biscuiterie Saint-Michel

Biscuiterie Saint-Michel is a French biscuit manufacturer and the company associated with the St-Michel brand of dry biscuits. Its origins date to 1905, when pastry chef Joseph Grellier began making small golden biscuits in Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef, a coastal community in Loire-Atlantique. Seeking a biscuit that could be stored for a relatively long period, Grellier developed the Galette Saint-Michel, a butter biscuit that became the company’s defining product. The biscuit was named after its place of origin and carried the Grellier family name, linking the product to both its maker and its regional identity. The business initially grew through local and seasonal tourism. Joseph Grellier’s wife, Constance, sold the biscuits to affluent visitors attending the sea baths at nearby Tharon-Plage. As demand increased, Joseph built a dedicated production workshop opposite the original bakery in 1912. The building remains associated with the company and is used as the historic factory’s shop. Industrial-scale production began in 1919 under Joseph’s nephew Félix Grellier, who established Société Biscuits Saint-Michel. Under this family-led operation, the range expanded beyond the original galette to include regional shortbreads, Éventails d’or and Roudor Breton palets. The company remained under Grellier family control until 1994, when it was acquired by German biscuit group Bahlsen. It subsequently operated as a Bahlsen subsidiary using the Bahlsen Saint-Michel name. Bahlsen sold the business in 2006 to Morina Baie Biscuits, and Morina Baie Biscuits adopted the name St Michel Biscuits in 2008. The brand is now associated with St Michel Biscuits, which manufactures and markets dry biscuits under the St-Michel name. Biscuiterie Saint-Michel’s principal identity is based on French biscuit-making tradition, butter-based recipes, regional provenance and continuity of production. The Galette Saint-Michel remains the signature offering, while the wider business produces a broader range of biscuits and undertakes store-brand manufacturing. Historically, production took place at Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef, Commercy (which produced madeleines) and Saint-Père-en-Retz. The wider St Michel Biscuits group later operated eight factories, and its products carry Origine France Garantie certification, reflecting that most of its activities and supplies are located in France. The company exports to approximately 30 countries and operates or has operated branded boutiques in Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef, Contres, Commercy, Beauvoir, Ardevon, Nantes, La Rochelle, Tours, Vannes and Saint-Malo, alongside an online boutique. Its brand positioning combines accessible French tradition with traditional biscuit formats. The company’s history also includes a serious reputational controversy: in 1994 it collaborated with a safari park to create Bamboula’s Village, a recreation of an Ivorian village that critics called a human zoo. The project closed after legal and anti-racist opposition. This episode remains a documented part of the brand’s history, distinct from its food-manufacturing activities.

Biscuiterie Saint-Michel began in 1905 in Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef on France’s Atlantic coast. Pastry chef Joseph Grellier created small golden biscuits designed to keep for an extended period and named the product Galettes Saint-Michel after the locality. His wife, Constance, helped establish an early sales channel by offering the biscuits to wealthy visitors staying at the nearby seaside resort of Tharon-Plage. The product’s name and the company’s later identity therefore emerged from a combination of family authorship, local geography and coastal tourism. The business expanded as the galette became more popular. In 1912, Joseph Grellier built a production workshop opposite the original bakery. That structure remains part of the historic Saint-Michel site and is used as a shop. From 1919, the business moved toward industrial processing under Joseph’s nephew Félix Grellier, who founded Société Biscuits Saint-Michel. The company diversified its assortment with regional shortbread, Éventails d’or and Roudor Breton palets, while retaining the original Galette Saint-Michel as its central product. Family ownership continued until 1994, when Bahlsen acquired the company. The business then became a Bahlsen subsidiary and was known for a period as Bahlsen Saint-Michel. In 2006, Bahlsen sold Biscuiterie Saint-Michel to Morina Baie Biscuits. Morina Baie Biscuits changed its name to St Michel Biscuits in 2008, creating the corporate framework under which the St-Michel brand is presented. The original factory remains in Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef, but the company’s headquarters moved to Contres. Before the 2006 acquisition, manufacturing was reported at three sites: Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef, Commercy in Meuse, which produced madeleines, and Saint-Père-en-Retz. The wider St Michel Biscuits group subsequently operated eight factories. Its products include dry biscuits and other baked goods, and the business also provides store-brand manufacturing services. Production carries Origine France Garantie certification, indicating that most of the relevant activities and supplies are located in France. The brand has developed distribution beyond its home market and exports to approximately 30 countries. It also operates or has operated branded boutiques in several French destinations, including Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef, Contres, Commercy, Beauvoir, Ardevon, Nantes, La Rochelle, Tours, Vannes and Saint-Malo, alongside an online boutique. This retail presence reinforces the connection between the packaged products and the places associated with the company’s history. A major historical controversy occurred in 1994. Biscuiterie Saint-Michel joined with a safari park near Nantes to create Bamboula’s Village, a supposed recreation of an Ivorian village named after the company’s Bamboula chocolate biscuit and its black mascot. Anti-racist organizations and labor groups opposed the attraction as a human-zoo concept and pursued legal action. The performers were removed from France before a court-appointed expert could complete an assessment, and the village closed in September 1994. The episode is a documented reputational failure in the company’s history and should be considered separately from the brand’s longer-running biscuit heritage. Today, Biscuiterie Saint-Michel is chiefly recognized for French-style dry biscuits, especially the Galette Saint-Michel. Its heritage rests on the 1905 founding story, the Grellier family name, the enduring Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef site and the company’s continuing association with French production.

• 2008

  Corporate name becomes St Michel Biscuits

  [1]Biscuiterie Saint-Michelen.wikipedia.org

  Morina Baie Biscuits changed its name to St Michel Biscuits.

• 2006

  Sold to Morina Baie Biscuits

  [1]Biscuiterie Saint-Michelen.wikipedia.org

  Bahlsen sold Biscuiterie Saint-Michel to Morina Baie Biscuits.

• 1994

  Acquired by Bahlsen

  [1]Biscuiterie Saint-Michelen.wikipedia.org

  The Grellier family business was acquired by German biscuit group Bahlsen.

• 1994

  Bamboula’s Village closes

  [1]Biscuiterie Saint-Michelen.wikipedia.org

  The controversial attraction created with a safari park closed after anti-racist opposition and legal action.

• 1919

  Industrial production begins

  [1]Biscuiterie Saint-Michelen.wikipedia.org

  Félix Grellier, Joseph Grellier’s nephew, began industrial processing and founded Société Biscuits Saint-Michel.

• 1912

  Dedicated production workshop built

  [1]Biscuiterie Saint-Michelen.wikipedia.org

  A workshop was constructed opposite the original bakery to support the growing success of the galette.

• 1905

  Founding and creation of the Galette Saint-Michel

  [1]Biscuiterie Saint-Michelen.wikipedia.org

  Joseph Grellier opened a bakery in Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef and created the Galette Saint-Michel, establishing the brand.

Traditional French biscuit-making with regional heritage, butter-based recipes, French production and broad retail distribution.

• Butter biscuit · 1905

  Galette Saint-Michel

  The signature Saint-Michel biscuit, first created in 1905 by Joseph Grellier. It is a small golden, dry butter biscuit associated with the company’s origin in Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef and remains the clearest expression of the brand’s traditional French positioning. The product also incorporates the founder’s family name, Grellier, into its identity.

• Regional shortbread

  Roudor Breton palets

  A Breton-style palet within the company’s expanded biscuit range. It represents the diversification undertaken after the business moved toward industrial production while maintaining a focus on regional French biscuit formats.

• Biscuit

  Éventails d’or

  A named biscuit line introduced as part of the company’s historical range diversification under Société Biscuits Saint-Michel. The available reference material identifies the product as part of the Saint-Michel assortment but does not provide detailed recipe or packaging information.

• Cakes and baked goods

  Madeleines

  Madeleines were manufactured at the company’s Commercy site before the 2006 ownership change. They form part of the broader baked-goods scope associated with the Saint-Michel business rather than the original galette tradition.

• Contract manufacturing

  Store-brand biscuits

  In addition to products sold under the St-Michel name, the business offers manufacturing services for retailer or store brands. This broadens the company’s role from consumer brand owner to French baked-goods manufacturing partner.

• 1994

  Bamboula’s Village human-zoo controversy

  Biscuiterie Saint-Michel collaborated with a safari park near Nantes on Bamboula’s Village, an attraction presenting a supposed Ivorian village and named after the company’s Bamboula biscuit mascot. Anti-racist organizations and unions condemned the project and initiated legal action. The village closed in September 1994; the park was required to pay symbolic damages and legal costs.

  Source

Read more

• 2008

  Adopt the St Michel Biscuits corporate nameStrategy

  Background

  The owner formerly known as Morina Baie Biscuits reorganized its identity around the St-Michel brand.

  Action taken

  Morina Baie Biscuits became St Michel Biscuits.

  Aftermath

  The St Michel Biscuits group continued the brand’s biscuit manufacturing, export activity and store-brand production.

  Source

• 2006

  Sale to Morina Baie BiscuitsM&A

  Background

  Bahlsen divested Biscuiterie Saint-Michel as part of a change in ownership.

  Action taken

  Morina Baie Biscuits acquired the company.

  Aftermath

  Morina Baie Biscuits changed its corporate name to St Michel Biscuits in 2008.

  Source

• 1994

  Accept acquisition by BahlsenM&A

  Background

  After remaining in the Grellier family for decades, Biscuiterie Saint-Michel was acquired by German biscuit group Bahlsen.

  Action taken

  The business became a Bahlsen subsidiary and was operated for a period under the Bahlsen Saint-Michel name.

  Aftermath

  Bahlsen later sold the company to Morina Baie Biscuits in 2006.

  Source

1. 1Biscuiterie Saint-Michelen.wikipedia.org