In 1954, René Monnier and his wife, Lucette, ran a family grocery store in Roubaix. The city is located on the Belgian border where the Marshall Plan brings many consumer products. In France, there is a lack of everything and Roubaisiens smuggle coffee "Grootmoeder". A need that did not escape the Monnier couple. They then decide to launch their coffee. For the wink, they call her: Grand'Mère.
Common sense of a couple of entrepreneurs
To attract passers-by, René and Lucette create quality bean mixes and have the idea of roasting some coffee in their store. The smell of good coffee then spreads throughout the neighborhood and attracts customers. Success is immediate! They even run gift offers like, for example, 500 grams of coffee and 4 breakfast bowls.
An initiative that continues to grow and becomes one of the little Grand'Mère touches! Small catalogs offering various bazaar items are created. In 1966, the catalog went into color and offered a full range of items and equipment for the home. In the 1970s, the company organized itself around the rapidly developing catalog activity. We no longer speak of Grand'Mère but of "GM Catalog". Completely in tune with the spirit of the time, the sale of coffee coupled with the catalog largely contributes to the notoriety and growing success of the Grand'Mère brand in the North region.
Lucette, René Monnier's wife, plays a key role in this adventure. A business partner of her husband for more than thirty years, it is she who finds the name and icon of the brand.
An icon!
Lucette Monnier invents the first Grand'Mère logo, with her cup of coffee in her hand. The icon was born even though she has not yet raised a finger!
In the 1970s, to respond to the youth of the time, the muse disappeared from packaging and came back in force in the 1980s.
In 1979, René Monnier asked an agency to make proposals for new packaging. He scrolls all the employees in front of the models. Grand'mère drawing, which will be seen on Grand'Mère packages, leads to more than 80% of the votes. Year after year, Grand'Mère has been modernized. She will even finally take off her traditional blouse in 1996 to adapt to the changing image of grandmothers.
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