About Us
THE PAUL STORY
PAUL is a family company built upon a foundation of time-honored production methods passed down for five generations.
- 1889
The Mayot family, a family of agricultural workers in the Artois region of Northern France, led by Charlemagne Mayot and his wife ran a small bakery located in rue de la Mackellerie in Croix, near Lille.
- 1908
His son Edmond-Charlemagne Mayot, born in 1889, took over the family business in 1908 with his wife Victorine. They had a daughter, Suzanne.
- 1935
Suzanne Mayot married Julien Holder. They set up their own bakery located in rue des Sarrazins in Lille. Their son, Francis, was born a few years later.
- 1953
Francis Holder began working with his parents who, by then, had taken over a famous karery-pâtisserie belonging to the PAUL family. The PAUL name was retained. In 1958, Julien Holder passes away took over the family bakery. A second bakery is opened in 1963.
- 1972
Francis renovated the family bakery in Lille, and without realizing the effect this would have, installed a wood-fired oven that operated in full view of customers. A simple idea qualified by Francis as « common sense », yet quite innovative at the time, seeing bread made in this purely traditional fashion: kneading, proving, shaping, finishing, long fermentation, baking, etc.
- 1985
PAUL opens its first bakery outside France, in Barcelona. It is the begining of our international development. Two years late, some bakeries incorporate a cafe area and or a restaurant.
- 1993
Francis Holder decided to re-energise PAUL and added two new components to the business; the now famous black shop fronts and the development of a rustic line of specialty breads using sustainably produced winter wheat.
- 2003
In 2003, PAUL Bakery & Restaurant journeyed across the continents to make its way to Kuwait, opening their 1st branch in Marina Mall. Azadea was proud to be the one to introduce the French concept of “Art de vivre” to the region. The success of PAUL in Kuwait led Azadea to expand into UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Egypt, Oman and KSA. They now have over 60 stores & restaurants in 8 countries and continue to expand.
- 2007
Francis Holder appoints his children to continue the family story, appointing Maxime as CEO of PAUL International. The 5th generation of bread enthusiasts increasing the international development along with our social commitments.
- 2009
PAUL celebrates its 120 year anniversary renewing the companies commitment to providing fresh bread, baked daily using traditional, time-honored methods by introducing the « Charlemagne » baguette to honor our founder Charlemagne Mayot.
- 2011
PAUL continues to be be a family owned company built on the foundations of time-honored production methods passed down through five generations. A commitment shared in more than 20 countries today with PAUL bakeries in London, Washington, Dubai, Tokyo‚ …
- 2014
"125 years old, PAUL is the Ambassador of the French art de vivre. Present in over 33 countries, the brand’s teams share the love of work well done, the joy of offering to our customers each day the very best quality products in a setting that is enchanting and unique."
OUR VALUES
- PASSION FOR BREAD
Water, flour or yeast, a little sea salt, some savoir-faire, a lot of patience … our principles are timeless. Our commitment is an everyday commitment: offering you a wide range of fresh quality bread.
- QUALITY AT HEART PAUL
recipes leave no room for compromise: carefully selected ingredients, fresh products, polished presentation … At PAUL we assure you of our promise of quality with one unique aim: your pleasure.
- FRENCH TRADITION
Through our products and shops exude a French way of life: at the same time gourmet and sophisticated, warm and timeless.
- A MAISON DE FAMILLE
"French-style" bread has been a real religion to passion in our family for over 125 years. Our passion and demanding expectations of good products has been handed down through five generations.
PAUL'S COMMITMENTS
2017 - PAUL BREAD SALES DONATION SUPPORTING THE BREAST CANCER CHARITIES (ACROSS ALL MARKETS)
On the occasion of the international bread day 16th October and during the month of the breast cancer awareness month, PAUL donated all the bread sales of all PAUL shops across 8 counties in the MENA Region to the local breast cancer charity of each country.
2016 - TAKE A BOOK & LEAVE A BOOK INITIATIVE SUPPORTING THE YEAR OF READING (ONLY IN UAE)
PAUL collaborated with “Mohammed Bin Rashid Award for World Peace” to support the year of reading in UAE by applying small libraries for the books at several shops and offered complementary kids meal or mini macaron box for each family donated with a book.
