Miss Meringue says upholding the standards of French cuisine with its products isn't easy, but the results are always worth the extra effort.

Even though Miss Meringue serves a wide variety of customers in high-end foodservice and grocery stores, it doesn't cut corners with its products. President Doug Davidson says because the company's specialty is French bakery products, nothing less than the best will do. "All of our products are handmade, so they are all very high-quality," he says.

The company's dedication to preserving French cuisine comes from its owner, Roland D'Abel de Libran, who came to the United States in 1981 to import high-end French baking equipment. He started selling and installing ovens in small retail bakeries, but later opened his own French retail bakery with partner Jacques Pautrat in 1987. Now known as Champagne French Bakery Cafe, it has 17 locations in California.

The success of Champagne French Bakery Cafe led Miss Meringue to create a frozen products division to service high-end foodservice outlets such as hotels and restaurants with products that have had a successful track record in its restaurants. The company sells traditional French cookies, cakes and other pastries to grocery stores under the Miss Meringue brand. It also operates an organic French restaurant called Figaro Bistro in Los Angeles.

Davidson says the company's owner is "very passionate" about upholding the standards of French cuisine. "What unifies our company is our commitment to high-quality French cuisine," he says.

Serious About Food
French cuisine is widely known for its attention to detail and insistence on doing things the right way, and these are principles that Miss Meringue holds itself to, Davidson says. "We make everything from scratch," he says. This includes the company's puff pastry dough, which takes four days to make.

Everything in the Champagne Gourmet line is handmade, as well, including danishes, croissants and mousse cakes. Davidson says its apple tarts use hand-peeled and fresh-cut apples, and the company uses only real butter in its recipes.

Even though the company places an emphasis on baking the traditional French way, that doesn't mean Miss Meringue stands still when it comes to developing new flavors and products. "Our strategy relies heavily on product innovation," Davidson says. Champagne French Bakery Cafe locations are constantly revising and updating their menus, and the company's two master pastry chefs continue to develop new products, including thaw-and-serve individual desserts such as crème brûlee, apple tarts and lemon tarts.

Having the Champagne French Bakery Cafes as part of the company makes testing new recipes much easier, Davidson says. "Owning restaurants certainly gives us insight into new trends for food," he says. "Food trends tend to start in restaurants before supermarkets."

Mainstream Success
Although Miss Meringue's emphasis on high-quality and traditional French cuisine results in premium products, it also limits the company's customer base. "Being a niche player in high-end products presents a challenge," Davidson says. He adds that the company understands this and works to target the proper customer base.

He says that barriers exist between high-end products like the ones made by Miss Meringue and the mainstream market. However, this does not mean that the company hasn't had success in those areas.

"Part of it is creating products familiar to a mainstream consumer," Davidson says. The company's Miss Meringue cookies are available at grocery stores across the country, and have been taking off in popularity in the last few years, Davidson says.

Made from a traditional French recipe, the meringue cookies come in a variety of flavors and are naturally low-fat or fat-free. Health-conscious consumers responded enthusiastically, especially once Weight Watchers declared that 13 Miss Meringue cookies equaled only two points on its diet system, according to Davidson.

Miss Meringue cookies bring in around $30 million in revenue for the company, he says. Although the Atkins low-carb diet craze hurt sales for a brief time, they've begun to rebound. As the category leader, Miss Meringue continues to advertise extensively to consumers, especially in Weight Watchers magazine.

European Influence
The European influence at Miss Meringue extends beyond its product lines, with its corporate culture exemplifying a laid-back atmosphere. "We have a very interesting work environment," Davidson says. "Because it's very French, it's a very family oriented environment."

This includes employees gathering to have lunch together, prepared by the company and usually served with wine. Davidson says this environment creates an appreciation for the company's approach to its products, as well as a friendly, cooperative atmosphere. "There's a real passion about high-quality food," he says. "Food should be enjoyed. Some eat to live, we live to eat." FAD