Pâtisserie E. Ladurée, commonly known as Ladurée (), is a French manufacturer and retailer of high-end

pastries Pastry refers to a variety of doughs (often enriched with fat or eggs), as well as the sweet and savoury baked goods made from them. The dough may be accordingly called pastry dough for clarity. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bak ...

and

candy Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a Confectionery, confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum ...

, established in 1862. Ladurée is well-known throughout the world for its

macarons A macaron ( , ) or French macaroon ( ) is a sweet meringue-based confection made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond meal, and often food colouring. Since the 19th century, a typical Parisian-style macaron has been a sand ...

. The company is a ''

société par actions simplifiée ''Société par actions simplifiée'' (SAS; simplified joint-stock company in British English or simplified corporation in American English) is a French type of business entity. It is the first hybrid entity enacted under Law of France, French la ...

'' (simplified joint stock corporation) and has its head office in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France.

Early years

Louis Ernest Ladurée, a

miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...

, founded a bakery in 1862 on the

rue Royale, Paris The Rue Royale () is a short street in Paris, France, running between the Place de la Concorde and the Place de la Madeleine (site of the Church of the Madeleine). The Rue Royale is in the city's 8th arrondissement. Among the well-known ad ...

. During the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...

uprising of 1871, the bakery was burnt down. A pastry shop was built at the same location, and

Jules Chéret Jules Chéret (31 May 1836 – 23 September 1932) was a French painter and lithographer who became a master of ''Belle Époque'' poster art. He has been called the father of the modern poster. Early life and career Born in Paris to a poor bu ...

was entrusted with the interior decoration. The chubby cherubs dressed as pastry cooks, painted by him on the ceiling, form the company's emblem. The interior of the premises were painted in the same celadon colour as the façade. Ladurée's rise to fame came in 1930 when his little cousin, Pierre Desfontaines, had the original idea of the double-decker, sticking two macaron shells together with a creamy

ganache Ganache ( or ; ) is a glaze, icing, sauce, or filling for pastries, made from chocolate and cream. In the broad sense of the term, ganache is an emulsion between (melted) solid chocolate (which is made with cocoa butter, the fat phase) and ...

as filling. Queen

Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian Republic of Florence, Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to Henry II of France, King Henry II. Sh ...

had brought the macaron to France from Italy in the 16th century, and the recipe for the biscuit had hardly varied over the years, but the amounts of the ingredients used and the appearance of the end product were up to the individual bakers. French pastry chef

Pierre Hermé Pierre Hermé (; born 20 November 1961) is a French pastry chef and chocolatier. He began his career at the age of 14 as an apprentice to Gaston Lenôtre. Called "the Picasso of Pastry" by ''Vogue'', Hermé was awarded the title of World's Best ...

helped orchestrate the expansion of Ladurée: "In one year Ladurée went from a little bakery in the eighth district of Paris to a big brand name. When I arrived, there was not a lot of organization. I really brought the savoir-faire to the company. When I arrived, they didn't have a logo."

Recent history

In 1993,

Groupe Holder Groupe Holder SAS is French business group founded by Francis Holder in 1962. The group includes companies like Ladurée, Chateau Blanc, PANAPRO, Panétude-Pandéco, IFH (Institut de Formation Holder) and Paul. The head office is located at M ...

took over Ladurée. The Holder family also owns the

PAUL Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

bakery chain in France. Following the takeover, the company began an expansion drive to turn Ladurée from the single rue Royale bakery into a chain, setting up pastry shops and tea rooms on the

Champs-Élysées The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an Avenue (landscape), avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc ...

and in Le Printemps Haussmann in 1997, followed by Ladurée Bonaparte in 2002. The international development of Ladurée started in 2005 with

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, in the

Harrods Harrods is a Listed building, Grade II listed luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the ground ...

department store. In 1997, two shops opened in Paris – the first on the

, next to its tea room, decorated by

Jacques Garcia Jacques Garcia (born 25 September 1947) is a French architect, interior designer and garden designer, best known for his contemporary interiors of Paris hotels and restaurants. He is the current owner of the Château du Champ-de-Bataille, a Baro ...

, and the second in the rue Bonaparte, decorated by Roxane Rodriguez. A shop opened in 2006 in London, also decorated by Roxane Rodriguez. The takeaway models of the rue Bonaparte and Harrods stores were exported to their other locations. Ladurée stores are now also present in Canada, Belgium, India, Ireland, Japan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Monaco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 2012, Ladurée released a makeup collection inspired by the colours of their macarons. It became available in Japan in February 2012, and in Europe from November 2012. In 2019, Ladurée switched to a vegan-only menu at their Beverly Hills location. In March 2022 80% of Ladurée was bought by Stephane Courbit through Lov Group. Mélanie Carron became the new managing director, replacing David Holder, the son of the founder of the Holder group.

Collaborations

In February 2014, Marie-Hélène de Taillac, a jewelry designer, collaborated with Ladurée to create sets of fashion macaron. The box containing the macarons depicts de Taillac's "Rainbow" necklace, featuring gold sequins and the piece's multicolored briolette gemstone. Ladurée had Marie-Hélène de Taillac-inspired window installations in its Tokyo, Paris, and New York City stores. In 2018 fashion house

Vera Wang Vera Ellen Wang (; born June 27, 1949) is an American fashion designer. Wang initially pursued a career in figure skating before transitioning to fashion. She worked for ''Vogue'' and Ralph Lauren before launching her own bridal gown boutique i ...

produced a range of desserts in collaboration with Ladurée. In 2021 the Italian designer LadoubleJ collaborated with Ladurėe to produce a porcelain collection. In 2022 the American children's and party product company

Meri Meri Meri Meri is an American design house and children's lifestyle company founded in 1985. Starting as a greeting card company, it was a significant member of the alternative card movement of the 1980s. It has been influential in developing gree ...

collaborated with Ladurée to produce a selection of French tea party decorations and accessories, including candles and dinner plates.

In popular culture

Ladurée made the pastries for the film ''Marie Antoinette'', directed by

Sofia Coppola Sofia Carmina Coppola ( , ; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and former actress. She has List of awards and nominations received by Sofia Coppola, won an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, a Golden Lion, and a Can ...

; its famous

macaron A macaron ( , ) or French macaroon ( ) is a sweet meringue-based confection made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond meal, and often food colouring. Since the 19th century, a typical Parisian-style macaron has been a ...

s can be seen in a scene between Marie Antoinette and Ambassador Mercy. They can also be seen in The CW's hit teen drama ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...

'' as

Blair Waldorf Blair Cornelia Waldorf (married name Bass) is one of the main characters of ''Gossip Girl'', introduced in the original series of novels and also appearing as the lead in the television adaptation; she also appears in the comic adaptation. Describ ...

's favorite pastries. Ladurée regularly collaborate with fashion designers: in 2009 with

Christian Louboutin Christian Louboutin (; born 7 January 1964) is a French fashion designer. His stiletto footwear incorporates shiny, red-lacquered soles that have become his signature. Initially a freelance designer for fashion houses, he started his shoe salo ...

, then the same year with Marni. In 2011, Ladurée was chosen to conceive macarons for

Albert II, Prince of Monaco Albert II (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is Prince of Monaco, reigning since 2005. Born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, Albert is the second child and only son of Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace. He attend ...

and

Charlene Wittstock Charlene ( ;Since her marriage, her name has been Gallicised by adding a grave accent to her name in French documents. born Charlene Lynette Wittstock, 25 January 1978) is Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Albert II. Before her marriag ...

's wedding.

Locations

As of September 2024, Ladurée operates 5 stores in Africa, 44 stores in Asia, 66 stores in Europe, 15 stores in North America and 1 store in South America. They are listed below:

Europe

* Berlin, Germany (1) * Cannes, France (1) * Charles de Gaulle Airport, France (13) * Chavannes-de-Bogis, Switzerland (1) * Dublin, Ireland (1) * Geneva, Switzerland (2) * Giverny, France (1) * Gordes, France (1) * Hamburg, Germany (1) * Heathrow Airport, England (1) * Ingolstadt, Germany (1) * Lausanne, Switzerland (1) * London, England (8) * Luxembourg City, Luxembourg (1) * Manchester, England (1) * Monte Carlo, Monaco (1) * Munich, Germany (3) * Nice Côte d'Azur Airport, Nice, France (1) * Orly Airport, France (7) * Paris, France (14) * Serris, France (1) * Saint-Laurent-du-Var, France (1) * Saint-Tropez, France (1) * Sliema, Malta (1) * Versailles, France (1)

Africa

* Cairo, Egypt (2) * El Sheikh Zayed City, Egypt (1) * Giza, Egypt (1) * New Cairo, Egypt (1)

Asia

* Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (4) * Doha, Qatar (6) * Dubai, United Arab Emirates (6) * Kuwait City, Kuwait (3) * Kyoto, Japan (1) * New Delhi, India (2) * Mumbai, India (1) * Kolkata, India (1) * Bengaluru, India (1) * Muscat, Oman (2) * Osaka, Japan (1) * Pune, India (1) * Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2) * Shanghai, China (3) * Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (1) * Tokyo, Japan (9) * Yokohama, Japan (1)

North America

* Beverly Hills, United States (1) * Glendale, United States (1) * Los Angeles, United States (1) * Miami, United States (2) * New York City, United States (5) * Toronto, Canada (2) * Vancouver, Canada (3) * Mexico City, Mexico (1)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Laduree French companies established in 1862 Bakeries of France Food and drink companies established in 1862 French brands Privately held companies of France Shops in Paris