In 1811 Antoine Brutus Menier was enrolled in the La Flèche Military Academy where he studied the composition of pharmaceuticals.

This aspect of the business grew rapidly and in 1825 he began an expansion through the acquisition of a second production facility on land on the banks of the Marne River at Noisiel, then a small village of less than 200 inhabitants at the outskirts of Paris.

Success led to a modernization[clarification needed] of the Noisel facility in 1830 that made it the first factory in France to have a mechanized mass production process for chocolate.

By 1832 Menier's company offered a wide range of medicinal powders and began publishing a catalog detailing its product line.

Antoine Brutus Menier's success earned him considerable recognition throughout France but soon brought with it criticism for his lack of certification as a pharmacist.