The MON VILLAGE brand represents an act of remembrance. It recalls the morning in August 1991 when Paul-André Cornu, at that time the owner of Cornu SA, and thus of the De Champagne trademark, was required by the powerful Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC), in France, to remove the name of his village from all the products that had, after all, been produced there for decades. The arbitrary intimidation by the CIVC and its heavy politico-legal machinery, however, came up against the determined resistance of this family business. The Swiss government even produced a legal opinion in favour of Cornu SA. Alas! A few years later, the company found itself under a new attack. Engaged in bilateral negotiations with the EU, the Swiss Confederation abandoned the cause that it had supported. The CIVC fired up its war machine once again and squared up against the fine bakery, now standing alone against it. After more than ten years of a hard-fought and unequal battle, Cornu SA managed to hold onto the right to mention its location on its products and decided to forge ahead with changes to its brand. These developments have also come with an unexpected moral victory: the firm stance of the family business and the persistence of the village of Champagne has today earned them an extraordinary reputation and immense sympathy.

The MON VILLAGE brand is a tribute. It is a celebration of the village of Champagne, of its courageous inhabitants and of all the innumerable supporters, the famous and not-so-famous among them, who have stood with it in its struggle. Never, perhaps, has such a small community had to stand together to defend its identity and its local products; certainly a small village

The members of the Cornu family pay particular attention to selecting the raw materials used in manufacturing products of the “Mon Village” brand, such as butter, salt or sesame. The task of validating purchases of raw materials is theirs alone and they thus bear this responsibility.

The quality of the raw materials, as well as health and safety conditions, are controlled meticulously. The family company follows a specialist methodology, required by the International Food Standard (IFS) and British Retail Consortium (BRC) food standards.

Over the years, Cornu SA has been able to surround itself with the best suppliers. The confidence and loyalty that are established, along with the knowledge of the requirements of the family company guarantee the quality of the products.