History

TRAOU MAD DE PONT AVEN is a high quality Breton biscuit brand. In fact, «Trou Mad» stands literally for «Good Things» in Breton !

The biscuit manufacture, created in 1920 in Pont-Aven, a renowned little town made famous by painters such as Paul Gauguin and his friends, invented the recipe for a thick biscuit called TRAOU MAD and then for a thin biscuit which became the famous «GALETTE DE PONT AVEN»

Today the firm owns 2 manufacturing sites, both in Pont Aven : one dedicated to typical "breton biscuits" (Traou Mad, galettes and plain Crêpes dentelle) and the other one which is dedicated to various types of salted or sweet crêpes dentelles.

Our firm combines Tradition and modernity and throughout the years, it has been able to preserve the traditional know-how and meet the requirements of the International Agri-food Industry. In 2007, we obtained the IFS (International Food Standards) certification.

TRAOU MAD® («good things» in Breton) is the name of a thick biscuit made of sablé pastry invented in 1920 by a baker in Pont-Aven, Alexis LE VILLAIN. He kept on improving his recipe and created the famous «Galette de Pont-Aven».

In the 50's, his daughter Marguerite transformed this «local» success in a real company, the «SA BISCUITERIE LE VILLAIN» and hired representatives in Paris & Nantes. In 1974, some production and packaging steps were automated but ingredients and recipes remained the same.

In 1985, the business was sold to Jean MENTHEOUR. He kept the homemade tradition and added an original combination of painting and gastronomy. In fact, he showed Gauguin's paintings on the biscuit boxes and the success was immediate. A logo linking TRAOU MAD and Paul Gauguin sealed this union.

In 1994, the company diversified its production and bought a «crêpe dentelle» (a very thin and lacy pancake) factory located in Quimper, «LES MASCOTTES» and then the «MILLCREPES» company located in Collégien near Paris. So new types of crêpes were launched offering salted fillings for cocktail parties and also sweet fillings. The whole production is now situated in Pont Aven.

In 2000, Thierry MENTHEOUR succeeded his father and then sold the company in 2006.

Now Olivier KOPP, with his experience in the Agri-Food Industry and Modern Distribution, keeps on imposing TRAOU MAD as a major actor in the top range biscuit market in France and abroad.