Boursin is a brand of soft creamy cheese available in various flavours, with a flavour and texture similar to

cream cheese Cream cheese is a soft, usually mild-tasting fresh cheese made from milk and cream.Oxford English Dictionary Cream cheese is not naturally matured and is meant to be consumed fresh, so it differs from other soft cheeses such as Brie and Neuf ...

. The first Boursin flavour, garlic and fine herbs, was created in 1957 by François Boursin, a cheese maker from

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

. Boursin's product was derived from a traditional party dish, fromage frais (French for "fresh cheese"); guests would take their cheese and add herbs for flavour. His recipe was the first flavoured cheese product to be sold nationally in France. Boursin cheese was first developed in

, and at one time was produced exclusively in

Croisy-sur-Eure Croisy-sur-Eure (, literally ''Croisy on Eure'') is a commune in the Eure department in northern France. Population Economy The Gournay cheese Boursin brand is manufactured here. See also *Communes of the Eure department The followi ...

, France, by the Boursin company. In 1990, the Boursin name was acquired by

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

, who sold it to

Groupe Bel The Bel Group ( Groupe Bel or Fromageries Bel in French) is a multinational cheese marketer centered in France. Overview The Bel Group is headquartered at 2 allée de Longchamp in Suresnes (near Paris), Île-de-France. (delisted on 25/01/2022) ...

in November 2007 for €400 million.

Advertising

The brand was advertised on television from 1 October 1968, when French television allowed commercial breaks for the first time. In 1972 their advertising slogan: "Du pain, du vin, du Boursin" ("Some bread, some wine, some Boursin") was launched. This slogan was later modified to "Du pain, du Boursin, on est bien" ("Some bread, some Boursin, we are good").

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boursin (Cheese) French cheeses Cow's-milk cheeses Norman cuisine Products introduced in 1957 Former Unilever brands