Timeline
February 2019 : Opening of a new frozen patisserie production site in Besançon. This new ultra-modern site is specialised in making products using choux pastry, rolled pastry and pastry bases and shells.
October 2018 : Take-over of a production facility in Tailly, specialised in the making of gougères and chouquettes.
End of 2017: The Erhard group achieved turnover above €60 million for the first time, and employed over 400 staff.
November 2016 : Creation and inauguration of the first Erhard Les Desserts store in Kingersheim, near Mulhouse. This temple for gourmets offers all the products and know-how of the Erhard group. It was followed by the opening of three other stores, in Franche-Comté (Belfort and Pontarlier) and in Alsace (Colmar), the original home of the group.
October 2013 : Opening of a new 2000 m² plant dedicated to the making of frozen fritters and doughnuts. It is located in Thurey-Le-Mont, near the frozen patisserie plant. It relies on machinery from the latest generation using leading-edge technology for controlled production.
June 2013 : Opening of a new 2000 m² plant in Étupes. This plant, with its up-to-the-minute equipment, is dedicated to the large-scale manufacture of ice cream and sorbets packaged in tubs and pots. Thus, the group is entering new markets and confirming its wish to become a go-to supplier in the ice-cream market.
2010 : Creation and inauguration of an order preparation logistics centre in Étupes, where all group products including ice cream and patisserie are stored, and from where orders are shipped.
2004 : Acquisition of a new 10,000-m² production site dedicated to frozen patisserie, brioches, fritters and doughnuts in Thurey-Le-Mont. Erhard branched out into cake making. Many improvements followed, in order to reorganise and modernise the production lines. The turnover was then €13 million.
1997 : Return to the homeland, Alsace, with the construction of a 5400 m² workshop in Masevaux. The new plant made it possible to rationalise production, improve productivity and also offer a wider range of products. By now, the company was marketing its products to retailers in France and elsewhere.
1992 : Foundation of Erhard Ice Creams, and building of the first industrial plant over 1000 m² for making ice cream in tubs and also frozen desserts, individual and shared, in Denney. Erhard products began to be marketed by regional retailers.
1983 : Installation of the first ice cream factory in Denney, and arrival of Bertrand Weiss, pastry chef, and Guy Haffner, who took charge of developing the sales network. The products began to be sold to restaurants in Alsace and Franche-Comté
1980 : His son, Denis Erhard, then aged 18, took over the family business with turnover of €53,000. Business developed gradually, and about a dozen small vans could be seen in the area. During their summer holidays, Denis Erhard and his former classmates helped sell ice cream in cones.
1961 : Charles Erhard bought his first Carpigiani turbine, which could make 2 to 3 litres of ice cream per hour, and sold his ice cream out of a 2 CV car by the lakes and in the villages of the area near Masevaux.