Laima (confectioner) facts for kids
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| Industry | Chocolatier |
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| Founded | Latvia (1870) |
| Founder | Theodor Riegert |
| Headquarters | , |
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Key people
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Daumants Vītols (majority shareholder of Nordic Food) |
| Products | Confectionery |
| Revenue |  LVL7.71 Million (FY 2011) |
 LVL681.9 Thousand (FY 2011) |
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Number of employees
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620 |
| Parent | Orkla Group |
Laima is a very famous company from Latvia that makes delicious sweets, especially chocolate! It is the biggest company of its kind in Latvia. Its name comes from Laima, who is a goddess of good fortune in old Latvian stories. The company's main office is in Riga, the capital city of Latvia.
Contents
History of Laima Sweets
A Sweet Start: How Laima Began
Laima's story began a long time ago, in the 1800s. Back then, a company called Theodor Riegert was one of the biggest candy makers in the Baltic Provinces of the Russian Empire. Even after Latvia became an independent country in 1918, this company stayed very popular at home.
Becoming Laima
The name "Laima" was first used in 1925. This happened after the Theodor Riegert company joined forces with another candy business. In 1933, one of the brothers who helped form Laima, Eliyahu Fromchenko, went on to start another famous chocolate company called Elite in Israel.
In 1937, the Latvian government bought Laima. During the 1930s and later when Latvia was part of the Soviet Union, Laima was the main chocolate maker in Latvia. Another company, L.W. Goegginger (later called Uzvara), made most of the hard candies.
Laima Today: Mergers and Growth
After Latvia became independent again in the 1990s, Laima grew even bigger. It joined together with Uzvara and another company called Staburadze. Staburadze made tasty cookies, wafers, and cakes. All these companies became one big company under the Laima name.
Laima's Business Story
Laima is a special company because it has kept its unique Latvian identity. Unlike some other famous candy brands in nearby countries, Laima was not bought by a huge international company like Kraft Foods for a long time.
For a while, Laima's ownership was controlled by a company called Nordic Food. This company was owned by a local businessman named Daumants Vītols. Laima's shares were even traded on the Riga Stock Exchange for a short time in 2006 and 2007. Later, in 2014, a big company called Orkla Group bought the parent company of Laima.
Famous Laima Products and Landmarks
Serenāde: A Timeless Treat
One of Laima's oldest and most loved candies is the chocolate Serenāde. The recipe for this delicious candy has stayed exactly the same since 1937. It's a true classic!
The Laima Clock
In Riga, there's a famous landmark called the Laima Clock. It's located near the Freedom Monument. This clock is a very popular meeting spot for people in Riga. Everyone knows where the Laima Clock is!
The Chocolate Bear
In 2007, Laima did something fun to get attention. They gave the people of Ruhnu island a huge statue of a bear made of chocolate! This bear weighed 40 kilograms (about 88 pounds). They did this to celebrate a real brown bear that had swum all the way from the Latvian mainland to the Estonian island. It was a sweet way to remember a unique event!
See also
