Old Menier chocolate factory

The manufacturing site has undergone several phases of transformation since the arrival of the Meniers in 1825 and the presence of a mill designed to grind pharmaceutical substances. From the 1860s, the business became a real industrial complex where the organisation of the manufacturing space was completely redesigned. The buildings were then arranged in accordance with the manufacturing process.

The design of the mill by Jules Saulnier (1878-1881) is a successful collaboration between "Art Nouveau" architecture from the end of the 19th century and industrial functionality. The industrial complex was completed from 1874 with the construction of a workers' city.

Up to 1924, the reconstructions and new buildings, made necessary by the expansion of production, perfectly integrated the technical progress of the 19th century, as well as an exceptional architectural aesthetic.

After the departure of the Menier family in 1960, the lands of the complex were sold to several successive groups. The old Menier chocolate factory was converted into a head office by the Nestlé-France SAS group in 1996. This conversion, carried out by the architects Reichen and Robert, is based on "the dialogue between contemporary and ancient architecture".

The buildings of the first Menier factories now belong to the French industrial heritage and have been listed as historic monuments since 1986.