“Three stars” pasta boxes are displayed in blue. Let’s delve into the story of the Ancienne usine Rivoire et Carret. This old pasta factory stands as a testament to Marseille’s industrial past. The Ancienne usine Rivoire et Carret began its life in 1931. It is located in the La Pomme-La Valbarelle area.
Rivoire et Carret was the first brand to commercialize industrial pasta in France. The company was founded in Lyon in 1860. The founders were cousins Claudius Rivoire and Jean-Marie Carret. They revolutionized pasta making in France. Before them pasta was made from soft wheat. Rivoire and Carret used durum wheat semolina. This guaranteed better preservation.
Before Rivoire et Carret pasta was sold loose. It was sold at the grocer’s shop. Rivoire et Carret offered pasta in guaranteed weight packages. The packages bore a commercial brand name. This marked the beginning of advertising in the food industry. The company understood the importance of packaging early on. Their recognizable blue boxes featured a distinctive red logo. The “3 stars” pasta suggested a superior quality label.
In the 1960s the company produced 60 million kg of pasta annually. A large portion of this came from the Marseille factory. The Ancienne usine Rivoire et Carret was at the height of its production. The factory employed up to 650 people. Most employees lived in the Cité Michelis. This was on land bought by Rivoire et Carret.
The company failed to adapt to economic changes in the 1970s. Unlike its competitors Panzani and Lustucru Rivoire et Carret fell behind. Lustucru took over the company in 1971. The Rivoire et Carret brand disappeared in 2000. The Marseille factory closed. The city hall bought it for rehabilitation.
In 1890-1892 the cousins Carret and Rivoire settled in Marseille. They wanted to be closer to raw materials sources from North Africa. The first factory was in the Huveaune valley in St Marcel. In 1925 the brothers Francisque and Joannès Carret bought land. This land was in La Pomme – La Valbarelle. They built a complex of industrial buildings. The buildings were equipped to manufacture pasta. This is largely the Ancienne usine Rivoire et Carret that we see today.
In 1934 the Carret family participated in the purchase of the “Jardins de La Pomme”. Gaston Castel built the future Cité Michelis here. It housed some of the SIPA workers. The St Marcel factory closed in 1948. Its operations were transferred to the La Pomme – La Valbarelle factory. This factory then took the name Rivoire et Carret.
Expansions of the La Pomme – La Valbarelle factory occurred in 1988. In March 2003 the factory ceased operations. The Ancienne usine Rivoire et Carret site is deeply embedded in the urban fabric. The flat almost square plot covers 47000 m².
The main facade faces the village center of La Valbarelle to the west. A wide esplanade gives a clear view of the building from the street. The facade features a chimney. Two water towers flank the chimney. Locals call the ensemble “la Dame Blanche” or “cathédrale blanche”.
The factory’s buildings are arranged around open or covered circulation routes. The southern building is neoclassical in style. It is 100 m long. The main building has three levels on its west side. It has two levels on its east side. The south facade features a series of bays. These are arched on the ground floor and rectangular above.
Today the Ancienne usine Rivoire et Carret stands as a reminder of Marseille’s industrial heritage. It is a monument to a time when pasta production was revolutionized. The Rivoire et Carret brand may be gone. The legacy of innovation and quality lives on.