History - Suard Confectionery

About the job

The Suard bakeries and patisseries have been delighting

the people of Fribourg for over 75 years.

It was in 1947 that Louis Suard opened his first bakery on Jean-Grimoux Street in Fribourg. At that time, the Alt district had many artisans: two butcher shops, two dairies, three grocery stores, and two bakeries. Louis Suard and then his son Jean-Marc continuously let their expertise speak and promoted the values of their establishment, which are product quality, freshness, and artisanal production, thus helping to shape the reputation of the family business. Today, the Suard house owns six bakeries, patisseries & confectioneries, a production laboratory, and three tea-rooms in Fribourg. To all these activities are added catering services for aperitifs, cocktail dinners, receptions for weddings, conferences, and birthdays. The Suard catering services also deliver to various restaurants.

Louis Suard opened his first bakery on Jean-Grimoux Street in Fribourg.

He then inaugurated a tea-room adjacent to his bakery, Le Capri, which was managed by his wife, Noëlle Suard. She established a friendly and family atmosphere that quickly gained regular customers.

In 1971, the succession was ensured by Jean-Marc Suard, son of Louis Suard, for whom the vocation of baker, pastry chef, and confectioner was more than obvious. He thus undertook an apprenticeship as a pastry chef, confectioner, and ice-cream maker at the Progin Confectionery in Biel, a strict training as required by the craft profession.

After his apprenticeship in 1974, he wished to gain experience at several confectioneries to discover the trade from different perspectives. First, he worked for a year at the Dudle Confectionery in Lucerne.

He was then employed for a year (1976) at the Allemann Confectionery in Vevey.

The following year, in 1977, he worked at the Abegglen Confectionery in Bern. The influence of German-speaking Switzerland later encouraged him to develop the sale of filled biscômes in Fribourg. He also created the famous orange-filled mass. That same year, he met his future wife, Patricia, who supported him throughout his career and assisted him in developing the family bakery.

The Suard couple, Jean-Marc and Patricia, took over the family bakery in 1980, which Jean-Marc’s father, suffering from myopathy, had had to rent out since 1971. At that time, the bakery operated according to the school calendar, delivering a large part of its products there. The family bakery then had four employees.

In 1983, the couple decided to modernise and expand the production laboratory on Jean-Grimoux Street, against the advice of Jean-Marc’s parents who considered this project too ambitious. But Jean-Marc had other prospects and dreamed of having his confectionery in the city centre.

The business expanded with the takeover and renovation of the Bulliard Confectionery at 13 Romont Street in Fribourg. This was an opportunity to further develop confectionery products and to set up a chocolate workshop there. From then on, Jean-Marc tirelessly improved chocolate recipes and significantly increased chocolate production (from 800kg per year to more than 4 tonnes currently). The Suard confectionery on Romont Street quickly became the reference address for pastry and chocolate.

The Suard couple took over and renovated the tea-room as well as the "Le Chantilly" bar at 13 Romont Street to offer their products there. A passionate, perfectionist, and astute entrepreneur, he worked in every position in his company throughout his career. His passion and perfectionism constantly pushed him to improve and excel, focusing entirely on the quality and freshness of his products. He modified and perfected the basic recipe of cuchaule with a subtle dosage of its key ingredients such as saffron.

The family business continued to develop with the takeover of the Mayritsch bakery-patisserie at 5A Place de la Gare and purchased building number 16 on Jean-Grimoux Street to install a new laboratory.

In 2009, the Domino bakery at 33 Boulevard de Pérolles was taken over.

And in 2010, the Gare shop was completely renovated. That same year, Jean-Marc Suard called on Franck Michel, Best Craftsman of France pastry chef in 2004 and World Pastry Champion in 2006, as an external advisor. For six weeks, this outstanding chef coached all the teams of the family business and helped them develop new creations such as Christmas logs.

The Suard couple, wishing to take a break, sought a partner who would uphold their values. In December, they thus concluded a three-year agreement with Villars Holding SA, during which the group, through its subsidiary Arte Panis, would manage the entire operation of Boulangerie-Pâtisserie-Confiserie Suard SA on its own account.

In November, Suard Confectionery presented its new website where it offered products for sale online for the first time.

Suard Confectionery celebrated its 70th anniversary. In July 2017, it moved its bakery production laboratory to Route de la Fonderie in Fribourg and opened its fifth shop/drive-through in Givisiez.

Mrs Laurence Stephan took over the management of the Suard bakeries and tea-rooms.

In January, a new bakery opened its doors at the Jonction Shopping Centre in Marly.

In August 2020, the company moved its pastry and confectionery production laboratory and its packaging workshop to Route de la Fonderie in Fribourg, bringing all its production activities together on one site.

In 2022, Suard Confectionery celebrated its 75th anniversary, and in January 2023, Suard launched a new version of its website.