Cebon
Algerian food company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cebon (Arabic: سيبون) is an Algerian foods company that produces foods under the El Mordjene (Arabic: المرجان) brand. It is best known for its hazelnut spreads, also known as simply El Mordjene, which went viral in France in 2024.
Its head office is in Fouka, Tipaza Province.[1]
History
Cebon was founded in 1997 in Oran, Algeria as a family business,[2] incorporated as a société à responsabilité limitée (SARL, a type of limited-liability company).[3] It produces food products[4] under the brand El Mordjene,[3] such as spreads,[5][6][7] honey,[8] whipped cream,[9] food coloring,[10] vegetable fat,[11] powdered sugar,[12] and corn starch.[13]
Due to a viral trend on social media like TikTok,[14] initially through Algerian influencers and later those from the Algerian diaspora,[15] the company experienced a surge in demand for its spread products in 2024, which had been produced since 2021.[3] It was also tested by French influencers.[16] In France, where it was sold by select grocery stores and imported via the shuttle trade,[16][17] it quickly sold out.[18] This high demand drove up prices in France.[19]
By 2025 the French Ministry of Agriculture banned the product, and the European Union banned the importation of El Mordjene in EU territory. This caused issues in Algeria-France relations, and Lauren Collins of The New Yorker wrote that, citing Ferrero's existing dominance of Nutella and a belief that a motive could be to protect Nutella, "some see [the ban] as politically motivated."[20] The Ministry of Agriculture stated that the ban was based on EU food safety laws regulating the import of dairy products from Algeria.[21][20]
Awards
The range of spreads was voted product of the year by a panel of Algerian consumers in 2022, 2023, and 2024.[3]
