In 1949, a shared optimism for a fresh start and new begginings in post-war Europe brought together three engineer friends from the city of Lyon, France. Although, many households across Europe at the time were struggling financially, there was still a collective desire to embark on adventures and try new experiences. And so, that summer, Gabriel Corlet, Andre Colomb and Rene Sillon, together with their famillies, set out on their very first camping holiday.

During this family trip, the three engineers notived the lack of portable cooking equipment available on the marketed for anyone travelling by road or camping outdoors.With mandatory work holdays noe begin offered by employers in France, they decided there was sure to be a demand for this and thr trio set out to create a simple, yet revolutionary innovation – the first portable energy solution. Soon after, they introduced a small, blue, portable and refillable gas cylinder and named it the “bidon bleu”.