Lefèvre-Utile was founded in Nantes, in 1846 by Jean-Romain Lefèvre. Originally he sold biscuits from the English factory
Huntley & Palmers and then he began his own production. The name comes from Lefèvre and his business partner and wife,
Pauline-Isabelle Utile. Their initials were first utilized by
Alfons Mucha for an 1897
calendar ad for the "Lefèvre-Utile Biscuit Co." That same year the company hired
Firmin Bouisset to create a
poster ad. Bouisset, already noted for his work for the
Menier Chocolate company, created
Petit Écolier ("the Little Schoolboy") which incorporated the LU initials. Bouisset's poster was used extensively and the image was embossed on the company's Petit Beurre line of biscuits. Within a few years, the success of the logo resulted in the company becoming known as LU. The founder's son, Louis Lefèvre-Utile, took over the company and eventually it was acquired by Générale Biscuit S.A., which in turn was acquired by
Groupe Danone in 1986. Although an international brand today, LU products are primarily distributed in
Western Europe, and in 2005 represented nearly half of the sales for Danone's biscuits and cereal division. ==Gallery==