In the second half of the 19th century, the region's agriculture, then in great difficulty due to the collapse in grain prices, underwent a transformation. It switched from growing cereals to livestock and dairy farming. This change came at a time when urbanisation and the demographic transition required the consumption of richer foods. As a result, milk consumption in towns became more widespread, and dairies expanded at the turn of the 19th century. Industrial dairies, such as Lapp, Guigoz, Nestlé and Cailler, emerged to transform milk into everyday products. Cailler specialised in making chocolate.

In 1819, François-Louis Cailler began offering chocolate bars, which he produced in his workshop in Vevey. In 1875, Daniel Peter, François-Louis Cailler's son-in-law, invented a recipe for a successful milk chocolate bar. A few years later, Alexandre-Louis Cailler - grandson of François-Louis - began building a new chocolate factory in Broc in 1898 to meet the high demand. The factory was built on the left bank of the Jogne to take advantage of the river and the electricity generated by the hydroelectric plant built upstream.

Close to where the dairy cows graze and summer, the herdsmen bring the milk they produce to the factory. This factory remains an example of industrial development and urbanisation in a rural region like Gruyère.