Freia (chocolate) facts for kids
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Food manufacturing |
| Founded | 1889 |
| Founder | Olaf Larsen |
| Headquarters | Oslo, Norway |
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Area served
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Norway |
| Products | Confectionery |
| Parent | Mondelēz International |
Freia is a famous Norwegian company that makes delicious chocolate! They are well-known for their popular chocolate bars like Freia Melkesjokolade and Kvikk Lunsj. Freia also makes many other tasty candy and dessert treats. A big company called Mondelēz International bought Freia in 1993.
Contents
The Sweet Story of Freia
How Freia Began
Freia started way back in 1889. It was founded by two people, Olaf Larsen and Fredrik Wilhelm Hjorth Christensen. Olaf Larsen loved experimenting with chocolate recipes. Fredrik Wilhelm Hjorth Christensen helped by getting the cocoa and paying for the machines and factory space.
A few years later, in 1892, a smart businessman named Johan Throne Holst bought the company. He had big plans for Freia!
Growing Bigger and Better
Under Johan Throne Holst's leadership, Freia grew very quickly. In just six years, the number of employees jumped from 7 to 60! In 1898, Freia became a public company. This meant people could buy parts of the company.
Holst realized that people would love to eat milk chocolate. At that time, Freia mainly made dark chocolate. He worked hard to make Freia the best chocolate maker in Norway.
By the early 1900s, Freia was the top brand for sweets in Norway. The factory has always been in the Rodeløkka area of Oslo.
Freia Goes International: Marabou
In 1916, the Throne-Holst family started another chocolate factory in Sweden. They named it Marabou. They couldn't use the name Freia in Sweden because another company already had a similar name.
The name Marabou came from the marabou stork. This bird was part of Freia's logo at the time. Production at Marabou started in 1919. This was a bit later than planned because World War I caused a shortage of cocoa.
Changes in Ownership
In 1990, Freia bought all the shares of Marabou. This meant Freia owned Marabou completely.
A few years later, in 1992, a big American company called Kraft General Foods bought most of the shares in Freia Marabou. By April 1993, Kraft General Foods had full control. They bought Freia for about 3 billion Norwegian kroner.
After Kraft bought Freia, most of the chocolate making still happened at the factory in Oslo. However, some parts of the production moved to other countries like Lithuania, Estonia, and Sweden. Since 2012, the owner of Freia has been Mondelēz International.
Popular Freia Products
Freia's most famous product is its milk chocolate bar, called Freia Melkesjokolade. It's a classic! Based on this popular chocolate, Freia makes many other types of candy bars. Some have added nuts, raisins, cookies, or pieces of Daim.
Freia has always been marketed as a very Norwegian brand. Their slogan is Et lite stykke Norge, which means "A little piece of Norway." This shows how much the brand is loved and seen as a part of Norwegian culture.
More to Explore
Additional Information
- Ibsen, Hilde (1998) Et lite stykke Norge : Freia 100 år (Tano Aschehoug) ISBN: 82-518-3683-2
