The village of Échiré in western France owes its international reputation to the fine butters produced by its cooperative dairy.

Recent archeological excavations reveal that the area was inhabited as far back as Neolithic times. It would appear that way back then, people recognized that there was something special about this place!
The Romans called it Scauriacum, then Escauriacus. The name Échiré first appears in records dating from the year 1208. Local people have reared cows in this remote corner of France since time immemorial. The milk from these cows produces butter which has a subtle and exquisite taste, quite unlike anything else.

Experiments have shown that this unique flavour is due not to the breed of cows but the grass they eat. The secret, it would appear, lies in the grazing pastures which surround the village of Échiré and the local soil, which is geologically distinct from neighbouring areas.
Like champagne wines, which are unique to the Champagne region and cannot be produced anywhere else, Échiré butter is made from milk collected within a specific area, officially designated by the Société de Laiterie Coopérative d'Échiré.
The cooperative was set up on 11 June 1894 in an old flour mill on the banks of the river Sèvre. The site had previously been used as private dairy and the river provided an abundant source of quality spring water.

By 1904, Échiré butter was considered among the best in France and the people behind Échiré butter have since worked to make it the best in the world.
Échiré butter carries the prestigious label of origin AOC Beurre des Deux-Sèvres.
The company recently obtained ISO 9002 certification for the entire process, from milk collection to the sale of finished products, and set up a quality charter with its milk producers to further guarantee the very highest standards.