Maybe it’s the inspired flavors like pear with cocoa nibs or pineapple and yuzu, the affordability ($45) or the cute little jars that can be repurposed to hold spices or jewelry. But out of the many covetable food-based Advent calendars, those from a 53-year-old jam company are the hottest commodity.
The allure of Bonne Maman’s 25 days of fruit, chocolate and honey spreads in flavors both expected and unexpected have put its jam calendars at the top of Amazon’s most popular Advent calendar list, and moved TikTok creators and lifestyle publications to herald their annual arrival. And it keeps creeping up: In 2023 they became available to order on Aug. 15, and this year on July 18.
“It’s been organic growth, but stepping up fast for sure,” said Sylvain Dronet, the chief executive of Andros North America, which owns Bonne Maman. “If there is really one moment everybody remembers in our company as a turning point, it is the pandemic. It was hard to be together, it was hard to share moments, so this Advent calendar came as a tool to virtually open it together.
Bonne Maman was founded in 1971 by members of the Gervoson family in Biars-sur-Cère, France. Since it debuted 30,000 calendars in the United States in 2017, it has increased production by 400 percent, according to the company. A more affordable 12-day version to meet demand was introduced in 2021.
These jam calendars are the latest in a long European tradition of observing Advent. Starting in the early 19th century, German Lutherans logged the days leading up to Christmas by marking walls or doors with chalk or lighting candles. In the 1920s the German publisher Gerhard Lang — who is often credited with inventing printed Advent calendars — popularized them in Munich, by working with well-known children’s book illustrators to publish playful variations. The calendars eventually made their way to the United States with returning servicemen after World War II.
For decades, Americans celebrated the 25 days till Christmas with calendars that reveal a piece of chocolate or a toy. Modern Advent calendars skew toward more secular daily gifts spanning every imaginable consumable: wine, bourbon, hot sauce, caviar, cheese, jewelry, puzzles, perfume, candles, socks and pet treats. They’re increasingly popular with retailers and shoppers in Britain and the United States in particular.
Julio Lyon, a pastry chef based in Chicago, plans to pair the Bonne Maman calendar his husband bought for him in October with a cheese Advent calendar from the supermarket chain Aldi, which is offering 17 different calendars this year.
“There have been so many different Advent calendar varieties on the market, which is great and really gets you into the holidays,” Mr. Lyon said. But it’s the Bonne Maman calendar that he’s wanted “for years.”
Claire Dinhut, the London-based author of “The Condiment Book” and the creator of the popular CondimentClaire TikTok account, received her first Bonne Maman Advent calendar in 2021 as a gift from her mother. Ms. Dinhut, who grew up in Los Angeles and has a large U.S. following on TikTok, began posting video reviews of each flavor in the British version, raking in tens of thousands of views and hundreds of comments.
“It feels like your little moment of the day to enjoy yourself,” she said. In 2022, Bonne Maman sent her a calendar. “That was the year it really caught on and people were doing it along with me.”
Bonne Maman begins working on the calendars roughly 18 months in advance, with all research, development and production completed in France. Each calendar contains nine to 10 new flavors, like 2024’s cherry honey chestnut, and apricot with orange blossom spread, alongside repeat favorites like cherry with pink peppercorn; strawberry and rhubarb; and mango, raspberry and lime. The company’s research and development team monitors food trends, like incorporating spices, herbs and flowers into fruit, often seeking an element of surprise.
A sweet and spicy trend (better known now as swicy) in 2023, for example, inspired that year’s cherry jam infused with fruity, mild pink peppercorns. If Bonne Maman receives enough requests, a popular flavor can make it into the big jars and onto supermarket shelves, as was the case with calendar favorites like guava, which hit grocery shelves this year, and mango peach, which debuted a few years ago.
Hard-to-find preserves like French mirabelle plum with linden blossom were a big part of the calendar’s appeal to Marion Price, a marketing manager at Lenovo who lives in Raleigh, N.C. She learned about them in 2022 from a work friend who bought one after seeing Ms. Dinhut’s TikTok reviews.
Last year, Ms. Price and her mother, Olivia Mayer, each bought calendars and reviewed the flavors on a family text chain all December. Peach-mint “had a toothpaste vibe,” Ms. Mayer wrote, giving it two out of 10. Ms. Price gave apricot-banana five out of 10 for its “lovely unusual sweetness” that paired well with cream cheese.
“It’s so interesting how different people taste food, and how you bond over it,” Ms. Price said. This year, she convinced her sister and a few co-workers to get Bonne Maman calendars before they sold out. All plan to compare flavor notes.
“I do think it’s the perfect way to experience the holidays with friends and loved ones,” she said. “Whereas we might not normally. We talked everyday for a month last year. About jam!”
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