Hval sjokoladefabrikk is a
chocolate
Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...
factory in
Sandefjord
Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. It manufactures and markets
confectionery
Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories ...
made of chocolate and
marzipan
Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar, honey, and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract.
It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzi ...
. It was established by Rolf Rune Forsberg at Pindsle in 1995 as
Vestfold County’s only chocolate factory. The factory distributes its products throughout Norway along with some export abroad.
History
In 1999, Hval Sjokoladefabrikk established its first distribution deal with a major grocery store chain in Norway,
ICA Gruppen
ICA Gruppen AB (publ) (; "ICA Group"; from ''Inköpscentralernas aktiebolag'', ) (formerly Hakon Invest AB) is a Swedish retailer franchise with a focus on food and health. The group also owns a bank, real estate division and a pharmacy chain.
T ...
. Roughly 100
ICA grocery stores began selling their products. The products were also sold in
Color Line ferries. Prior to 1999, their products were only found in
Narvesen
Narvesen is a Norwegian chain of newsagents / convenience stores which, with its 370 outlets nationwide, is one of Norway's largest retailers. The company has since 2000 been part of the Reitan Group (''Reitangruppen'').
Narvesens Kioskkompagni ( ...
convenience stores and
Esso
Esso () is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso" (the phonetic p ...
gas stations. Other special distribution deals have included a local distribution agreement with
Meny
Meny (meaning "Menu") is a Norwegian and Danish supermarket chain owned by NorgesGruppen and Dagrofa (only the Danish stores, NorgesGruppen owns a 49% stake in Dagrofa). The chain has historically only been active in Norway, where 187 stores oper ...
in Sandefjord. As of 2015, products were sold at a variety of stores, including
Nille and
Europris.
In 2000, investor
Christen Sveaas Christen Sveaas (born 18 June 1956) is a Norwegian businessman, investor, art collector and donor. He is the founder and sole owner of Kistefos AS, vice chairman of the board of the Kistefos Museum and chairman of the board of Anders Sveaas Allmenny ...
purchased stocks making him the second-largest owner of Hval Sjokoladefabrikk ASA. Its founder, Rolf Rune Forsberg, remained the largest shareholder with 15 percent. Sveaas purchased 11.1 percent for NOK 2.7 million.
[Ulstad, Bjørn (March 2, 2000). "Sveaas inn i Hval" (in Norwegian). ]Sandefjords Blad
''Sandefjords Blad'' is a newspaper published daily in Sandefjord, Norway, except on Sundays. It is available in Norwegian language only. Sandefjords Blad is a private company, owned by Mecom with a circulation of 14,780 copies (2004) and 50 emp ...
. Page 5. Retrieved on August 30, 2021, from the National Library of Norway at https://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-nb_digavis_sandefjordsblad_null_null_20000302_139_52_1
References
External links
Company home page
Norwegian chocolate companies
Companies based in Sandefjord
{{Norway-company-stub