Michel – fruity delights since 1929
There are certain things that have to be on the breakfast table: hot coffee, crispy bread – and refreshing Michel orange juice. This is something that a young man by the name of Louis-Edmond Michel recognised early on. Back in the spring of 1929, in Chavannes, Canton Vaud, he opened a small business dealing in grape juice, fruit concentrates and wine. From amongst the fruity creations, his Tomato Cocktail proved to be a bestseller.
Prepared from sun-ripened Valais tomatoes, what made the juice special was its piquancy. The Tomato Cocktail came in handy 100 ml bottles. Later came pineapple, apricot and grapefruit. These nectars are still to be found in the extensive Michel portfolio of brands. The practical portion-sized bottles with their jaunty lettering soon became a staple of the hospitality industry. Louis-Edmond Michel passed away in 1960, but his brand lives on.
Rivella acquired the rights to the Michel SA trademarks and its production plant in 1983. The superior quality and taste of the fruit juice creations soon found an appreciative audience on the far (Swiss-German) side of Switzerland's linguistic divide, where Rivella is based.
In the tradition of fruit juice pioneer Louis-Edmond Michel, Rivella has continued to launch innovative and great-tasting pick-me-ups – the first being Michel Bodyguard. This multivitamin fruit nectar is made using fair-traded orange juice and peach and passion fruit juice, plus other ingredients.
Fair trade-certified since 2007, Michel Orange Premium Fair Trade, the multivitamin nectar Michel Bodyguard Fair Trade and the nectar Michel Orange Passion Fair Trade are an out-and-out success. The orange juice comes from cooperatives in Brazil and Cuba, where it is bought at guaranteed fair trade prices which means that the producer organisations can rely on stable trading conditions and improved access to the world market. Fair trade also improves the living and working conditions of the peasant farmers and pickers and monitors the environmental impact of the local production chain.
Michel, of course, is about more than great-tasting orange juice. Inspired by the popular piña colada cocktail, Michel blended pineapple, coconut, aloe vera, biotin and other ingredients to create its wonderfully refreshing Beauty Colada. Michel's classic Cranberry with its extra dash of juniper extract features low-calorie sweetness for undiminished enjoyment.
Michel has been tantalising our taste buds for more than 80 years. As a passionate risk-taker with a flair for the market, Louis-Edmond Michel took the Great Depression on the chin and founded a business whose values and visions remain of relevance to this very day. Rivella AG continues to pursue this tradition and innovative energy with vigour to ensure future generations are able to enjoy Michel products: Michel – fruity delights since 1929.
