Our history

Jules Destrooper believes that “Variety is the spice of life” – and so he starts to experiment with recipes and waffle irons.

At the prestigious Paris food fair, Jules Destrooper’s Almond thins win a gold medal.

Biscuit ingredients become scarce and too expensive. The bakery has to close.

So, Jules Destrooper Junior dives into his other passion: photography. His photos of Lo-Reninge and the surrounding area appear on postcards, which soldiers send back to the home front.

The Butter crisp wins a gold medal at the prestigious food fair in Brussels!

Butter is scarce in these turbulent times, and the biscuit factory goes through a difficult period.

Due to rationing measures, Jules Destrooper's biscuits become almost impossibly expensive. The customer now pays 60 francs for a box of Butter crisps that normally costs 15 francs.

The war is over. The world begins to recover. And once again, people are eager to enjoy life … and Jules Destrooper’s tasty biscuits!

Jules Junior starts exporting Almond thins and Butter crisps to the States – assisted by a Belgian who fled to America during the war. Mr. Van Den Bogaerde’s export company in New York arranges the import of our delicious biscuits.

A new recipe is developed with great care in Lo. It turns out to be a future classic:
the Butter waffle.

A Japanese soldier called Takeshi Teshima tasted ‘a Jules biscuit’ for the first time somewhere in the Ardennes. And he never forgot the experience. More than 20 years later, Takeshi accidentally rediscovers our biscuits at Brussels Airport and brings our delicacies to the Land of the Rising Sun. His company – Americo, now led by his son Ted – still does that today.

Patriek and Peter build a second bakery – this time in Ypres.

100 Years!

The Jules Destrooper Biscuiterie marks its centennial with a grand celebration in Lo! The Almond florentines, which are launched in honour of the centenary, make you hunger for another 100 years…

We expand our assortment with a new delicacy: Caramelised milk chocolate biscuits.

We can call ourselves ‘Purveyor to the Belgian Royal Household’ – an exclusive honour for suppliers with an impeccable reputation.

The millennium bug has no effect on the taste of our biscuits. And we celebrate that fact with Jules’ Finest: a festive assortment that includes our Almond thins, Butter crisps, Butter waffles, Caramelised milk chocolate biscuits and Almond florentines.

We bake the first Chocolate thins.

A disastrous fire breaks out in the bakery in Lo-Reninge. But we are soon back at work to serve our faithful connoisseurs from all over the world.

The Butter crisp can now call itself ‘Certified Regional Product from the Westhoek’.

Because people munch tasty and refined biscuits in hotels, restaurants and cafes too, we now also package the favourites from our assortment individually. These individual packages are prepared especially for the catering industry.

We work with another Belgian company that truly values taste and respect for tradition: IJsboerke! Together we make the Galettes: a delicious combination of Butter crisps with vanilla ice cream and chocolate. Ummm!

We know that our biscuits go with much more than coffee and tea. So, we join forces with food-pairing specialists – and together we develop new biscuits and make new combinations of our classics. You can find our recipes here.

In 2015, our independent family business is taken over by the Vandermarliere family. The biscuits and their names do not change. The new owners believe it’s important to bake according to the secret family recipes developed by great-grandfather Jules Destrooper.

For the first time ever, we combine Almond thins with milk chocolate.

The production of our biscuits is centralized in the bakery in Ypres.

The Butter crisp celebrates its 130th anniversary … and receives a special festive packaging.

Big news! We launch our biggest innovation in more than 130 years: the Butter crisp with dark chocolate. This new variant is baked according to the same recipe as the original Butter crisp, but once it rolls out of the oven, it gets a layer of Belgian dark chocolate on one (half) side. This truly tastes like heaven!

Our hard work pays off! The Butter crisp with dark chocolate is elected Best Product of the Year 2022 – 2023!

A bit later in 2022, we launch our Choc ‘n Croc Almond thins and Choc 'n Croc Butter waffles. In this brand new snack, crispy pieces of the Almond thins and Butter waffles are dipped in a delicious layer of Belgian milk chocolate, for a tasteful break at any time of day!

Given the great success of our Butter crisp with dark chocolate, we welcome a new brother in the family: the Butter crisp salted caramel! Experience the perfect balance of sweet and salty in this brand new variant! After our Butter Crisps with a layer of Belgian dark chocolate, this biscuit was also elected Best Product of the Year 2023 - 2024.

A bit later in 2023, we add a new flavour to our Choc 'n Croc assortment: the Choc 'n Croc Butter crisps salted caramel. You can find this biscuit on our webshop and at Delhaize in Belgium.

At the beginning of 2024, IJsboerke redesigns its "Belgian Originals" range, with a larger size of 1000 ml for even more ice cream enjoyment. Discover the delicious taste of vanilla ice cream with crunchy speculoos pieces and sauce, our one and only Almond thins and caramelized almond nut pieces.

In 2024 we've worked hard on the expansion of our "on the go" range, leading to the launch of our Crisp 'n Cream Butter crisps: bite-size Butter crisps with a delicious filling of vanilla or dark chocolate. Which flavour do you prefer?

Our collaboration with IJsboerke seems to know no limits! At the end of 2024, we launch a festive ice cream cake with delicious layers of ice cream based on our Butter crisp, caramel and speculoos. No more decision stress for your dessert at Christmas or any other occasion! You can easily share one cake with 7 people.