LA CRÈME BRÛLÉE RIANS CELEBRATES ITS 30TH ANNIVERSARY!
An iconic product between tradition and innovation.
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Rians Crème Brûlée, we will tell you the story of its creation and share with you some anecdotes: some of them have been confided to us by Régis Rouet who accompanied its development in the 90s and who is still today at Rians as Category Manager.
February 22, 2023
As is often the case at Rians, the birth of the Crème Brûlée was a family story. In 1991, Hugues Triballat (current CEO of the company) came up with the idea of adapting the recipe of his sister, Odile Triballat. At that time, Rians produced Cheeses, Faisselle and Fromages blancs but no desserts!
In the early 90's, you may not have known it but Crème Brûlée was not a democratized product as it is today. Indeed, it was not available everywhere, far from it! The Crème Brûlée was first and foremost a dessert made for high-end restaurants (such as starred restaurants).
At the time, the range of pastry desserts on the shelves was very limited. There was a Bavarois of the Chambourcy brand (whose production was stopped after a few years of marketing), chocolate mousse and a caramel cream (La Laitière). The Rians Crème Brûlée was a major innovation, both in terms of substance, with a dessert to be browned on the grill, and in terms of form, with its black packaging.
A recipe between tradition and innovation
It took Rians one and a half years to develop its innovation. Even if the recipe is still very close to the one used by Odile Triballat when she used to cook for family meals, it took a lot of work, many tests and adjustments in research and development to adapt the recipe to large production volumes and end up with a product that is finally marketed in stores and very quickly acclaimed by consumers.
As we know, what everyone appreciates above all in Crème Brûlée is this unique interplay of textures: a crunchy caramel on top that gives way to a melting, smooth cream underneath. It is this interplay of textures that required the most work during the conception of the product and that has made its reputation. Initially, the Rians Crème Brûlée was intended to be offered already "burned" and ready to serve. However, after several tests, it turned out that it was not possible to offer consumers a completely "finished" product, as the humidity of the lower layer of cream melted the upper part that was supposed to be crispy.
Rians managed to turn this disadvantage into an advantage. This difficulty was circumvented with the idea of making the Crème Brûlée a "do-it-yourself" dessert with a bag of brown sugar supplied separately. Nothing has more characteristics of a "homemade" dessert than a dessert finished by the consumer himself in his kitchen!
The simpler it is, the better it is: only 6 ingredients!
Cream, milk, eggs, sugar, natural vanilla flavor, vanilla seeds and that's it! Odile Triballat's recipe is part of the DNA of Rians. The fruit of tradition and transmission, it is a good, simple and natural product (without additives and preservatives)."
"No. 1 in the hearts of gourmets around the world
By having the idea of adapting this dessert for the general public, Hugues Triballat, with the support of his father Hubert who was CEO of the company at the time, was visionary. The Crème Brûlée Rians is today THE number one selling pastry dessert in France and the oldest pastry dessert on the shelf. And if it has conquered the French, the Crème Brûlée Rians is exported and has made our French know-how shine far beyond our borders since its launch."
Did you know that?
Abroad, it is in the United States that they are most fond of our Rians Crème Brûlées and no less than 153 tons were consumed in 2021! Japanese people are also very fond of them and some local youtubers even promote them :)
A success that we are very happy to share with you
This emblematic dessert that has naturally imposed itself on the menu of restaurants and brasseries but also on the table of households in France and far beyond, is more than ever current.
You either love or adore the Crème Brûlée!
So happy birthday to it and thank you to you