Pastry chefs are copying a supermarket chocolate bear from Villeneuve-d'Ascq

A cheap chocolate marshmallow bear from northern France is turning up on luxury pastry menus. The Local, citing AFP, reported on October 30, 2026, that the original ourson en guimauve came from the Bouquet d'Or factory in Villeneuve-d'Ascq in 1962. Cémoi now owns that factory and still makes the supermarket version.

Christophe Michalak put a high-end bear on the menu at the Plaza Athénée in the early 2000s. Pierre Hermé, La Maison du Chocolat, and Caffet now sell their own, with fillings such as passion fruit, praline, and poured chocolate. Pascal Caffet said he sold more than 400,000 bears in a year. Patrick Morlière of La Maison du Chocolat said the company's bear, launched in September, has had what he called incredible sales. Factory boss Armando Mendes described the chef copies as emulation, not a threat. Sylvie Douce, founder of the Salon du Chocolat, said the shape works because a bear feels both firm, in the chocolate, and soft, in the marshmallow.

The French centre is gelled sugar paste that is then oven-dried, so it is not the same as an American marshmallow, and the bear is rarely exported. Cousins include Norway's Bamsemums, Denmark's flødeboller, Germany's Schokokuss, and Britain's Tunnock's teacake. Stéphane Jitiaux of Michalak said the bear might become the next macaron. The reported figures are the chefs' sales claims and the 1962 origin. The article does not give a total for how many supermarket bears Cémoi still sells.