During the
plague epidemic in 1643, the
aldermen of Lyon made the vow to organize a procession at
Fourvière to implore the
Virgin Mary to save the city. They carried a wax candle and a gold crown on a silk cushion. This gave the chocolatier
Voisin, based in Lyon since 1897, the idea of using the shape of the cushion to create this confection in 1960. This delicacy has become very popular. It is possible to buy the "cushions" individually, and also in velvet boxes which recall the original form of silk cushion. The Boucaud family has a monopoly in marketing the
coussins, which it makes in its network of retail stores across the
Rhône-Alpes region and in
Marseille. In 2010, company manager Paul Boucaud said that Voisin manufactured of coussins in Lyon annually and that production increased by 10% year on year. The family does not use large retailers to market its product. ==See also==