Towards the end of 19th century, Lyon was suffering from the collapse of the textile market, notably silk. In the midst of this crisis, Clément Faugier, a bridge and roadworks engineer, was looking for a way to revitalize the regional economy. In 1882 in Privas, Ardèche, he and a local confectioner set up the first factory with the technology to produce marrons glacés industrially (though many of the nearly twenty steps necessary from harvest to finished product are still performed manually). Three years later he introduced the "crème de marrons de l'Ardèche", a sweetened chestnut purée made from marrons glacés broken during the production process, flavoured with vanilla. (later came "Marrons au Cognac" in 1924, "Purée de Marrons Nature" in 1934, "Marrons au Naturel" in 1951, and "Marpom's" in 1994.)