Anders Edvard Olsen Bergene (16 June 1855 – 18 August 1920) was a Norwegian businessperson. He founded the chocolate and confectionery company Bergene. Bergene was born at the parish of

Hedrum Hedrum is a parish and the site of a historic church in Vestfold county, Norway. Hedrum was annexed by Larvik on January 1, 1988. History The parish of Hedrum was established as a municipality on January 1, 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). Small ...

Vestfold Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered th ...

, Norway. He was the son of Ole Kristian Hansen (1828-1900) and Edel Marie Andersdatter. He departed early from home, first to

Skien Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsj ...

, then at age 20 to

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

(now Oslo), where he had several positions with retail stores, including with merchant F. H. Dethloff. He worked as a wholesaler under the trade name ''A. Bergene Colonial en Gros'' from 1882 and from 1890 he also sold candy and peppermint lozenges. In 1906, he acquired the firm of ''A/S Olaf Larsens Chocoladefabrik''. He expanded the operation to establish ''A. Bergene Chokoladefabrik'', a

chocolate factory ''Chocolate Factory'' is the fifth studio album by American recording artist R. Kelly, released on February 18, 2003, by Jive Records. Recording sessions took place mainly at Rockland Studios and Chicago Recording Company in Chicago, Illinois, and ...

in the neighborhood of Rodeløkka. The confectionery quickly became one of the leaders in Norway with large range of chocolate and candy products. In 1919, one year before his death, the ownership was transferred to his son Alf Bergene (1887-1967). The company became a

limited company In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by ...

in 1961 under the trade name ''Bergene A/S'' which merged with Nidar A/S in 1980. In 1987 Nidar was bought by

Nora Industrier Nora Industrier was a Norwegian company, most of its history involved in manufacturing of soft drinks and foodstuffs. It traced its history back to the brewery St. Halvard Bryggeri, established in Pilestredet in 1877. It originally brewed beer onl ...

and in 1992, the company became part of

Orkla Group Orkla ASA is a Norwegian conglomerate operating in the Nordic region, Eastern Europe, Asia and the US. At present, Orkla operates in the branded consumer goods, aluminium solutions and financial investment sectors. Orkla ASA is listed on the Os ...

References

External links

Orkla Confectionery & Snacks website
1855 births 1920 deaths People from Vestfold Norwegian company founders Norwegian industrialists {{Norway-business-bio-stub