In 1892 Clémentine and Auguste Rouzaud, respectively the daughter of chocolate makers and the son of a Controller of Mines, decided to take over a small chocolate shop in the thermal resort town of Royat, situated in the Auvergne region. Auguste quickly found he had a passion for chocolate, which he sublimated by creating new recipes and inventing new techniques. As for Clémentine, she sold her husband’s innovative creations in their shop in Royat, and later on in after in Vichy.

Young Madame Rouzaud, who had a shrewd business sense, sent Edmond Rostand, who was performing at the casino in Vichy, a box of their finest chocolates. Rostand was staying at the “the Pavillon Sévigné "… When Mme Rouzaud read his address she thought : "Sévigné ! Now there’s a fine name which would look good on our chocolate boxes. " This is how, simply, under poetic influence, the brand name “Marquise de sévigné” was born.