Who owns The Laughing Cow?
The Laughing Cow is owned by Bel Group (France).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Bel Group — our brands, Groupe Bel. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Groupe Bel reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇫🇷 France, Suresnes
- Origin
- 🇫🇷 France
- Founded
- 1921
- Category
- Food › Dairy & alternatives › Cheese
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About The Laughing Cow
The Laughing Cow was created in 1921 and its name and laughing cow illustration came from a French military transport unit insignia of the First World War. The foil-wrapped triangle in a round box is one of the most widely recognised cheese formats in the world.
Ownership timeline of The Laughing Cow
Where The Laughing Cow sits in Bel Group
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Bel Group ownership tree →
See the full Bel Group brand portfolio (5) →
Other brands owned by Bel Group
Bel Group controls 5 brands on Brandtree, 5 of them in food.
Also in food
Other brands in cheese, and who owns them
The 94 brands in cheese on Brandtree belong to 37 owners. The largest is Savencia Fromage & Dairy, with 9; Bel Group has 4.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Alouette | Savencia Fromage & Dairy | 🇫🇷 France |
| Athenos | Emmi | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
| Alexis de Portneuf | Saputo | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| Amalattea | Granarolo | 🇮🇹 Italy |
| Galbani | Lactalis | 🇫🇷 France |
| Arla | Arla Foods | 🇩🇰 Denmark |
| Fetaxa | Hochland | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| Brest-Litovsk | Savushkin Product | 🇧🇾 Belarus |
About the owner: Bel Group
Bel Group is a family-owned company headquartered in Suresnes, France, founded in 1865. Brandtree records 5 brands under its control.
Bel Group was founded in the Jura in 1865 and is controlled by the fifth generation of the Bel family. It specialises in portioned, branded cheese sold at ambient or chilled temperature, a format it largely invented with The Laughing Cow in 1921, and it is one of the largest branded cheese companies in the world.
🇫🇷 The Laughing Cow and other French brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 322 brands that began in France. 100 of them (31%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; The Laughing Cow is not one of them.
- Actimel — Danone 🇫🇷
- Bonduelle — Bonduelle 🇫🇷
- Béghin Say — Tereos 🇫🇷
- Candia — Sodiaal 🇫🇷
- Caprice des Dieux — Savencia Fromage & Dairy 🇫🇷
- Carrefour — Carrefour 🇫🇷
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of The Laughing Cow?
The parent company of The Laughing Cow is Bel Group, a family-owned company headquartered in France.
Is The Laughing Cow French?
Yes. The Laughing Cow originated in France in 1921 and its owner, Bel Group, is also headquartered in France.
Is The Laughing Cow still owned by Bel Group?
Yes. As of 16 September 2026, The Laughing Cow is still owned by Bel Group. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Bel Group — our brands — Groupe Bel, Official document; retrieved 16 September 2026.
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