Elle & Vire (France)
In December 1945, Auguste Grandin, a French farmer and mayor of Condé-sur-Vire in Normandy, created the butter-producing agricultural cooperative of the Elle & Vire valleys. This new cooperative grouped together 17 farmers.
From collecting farm-produced butter, the cooperative gradually progressed to collecting dairy cream to make pasteurised butter, as of 1948. The sale of products made in Condé-sur-Vire spread nationally, with a presence in the covered markets in Paris and the main cities of France.
Based on this growth, the current site at Condé-sur-Vire was inaugurated in November 1950. In December 1954, new cooperatives joined Elle & Vire and became the Union Laitière Normande (ULN) in 1962. Industrial organisation also continued to develop: the milk producers refocused purely on milk production with the centralisation of all processing in Condé-sur-Vire (cream, butter and also milk powder)
