Discover Benelux | Food & Drink | A Taste of the Netherlands
Sweet and salty goodness TEXT: BAS VAN DUREN | PHOTOS: VENCO
Cheese, windmills and clogs: there are things that will always be associated with the Netherlands. But if you are not from the country itself, something you might not instantly think of is liquorice - or ‘drop’ as it is known in the Netherlands. Still one of the country’s most popular treats, with an average consumption of over four pounds per person, per year, not a single other country’s volume of consumption comes close. Much of the liquorice consumed in the Netherlands comes from Venco; for decades the market leader and with a rich history rooted in Dutch ground and part of the country’s culture.
Cough medicine If you are looking for the beginnings of Venco, you have to dig deep. The ground36 | Issue 52 | April 2018
work was laid in 1878 when Gerrit van Voornveld opened a shop in Amsterdam, selling cough medicine comprised of liquorice root, gum arabic, spices and sugar. The concoction was a hit, especially since the Netherlands, and Amsterdam in particular, was struck by a flu epidemic. Long lines formed at Van Voornveld’s shop and before long the medicinal aspects of his liquorice and peppermint were eschewed, making way to sell the products as confectionary. The company was sold to the Dieperink brothers, who christened the brand ‘Venco’ (a combination of ‘Voornveld’ and ‘co.’). Its growth was unstoppable after World War II and with Amsterdam incapable of providing more space, the factory now resides in Roosendaal, with their office in Oosterhout, both in the south of the Netherlands. Since 2000 it has been part of Swedish confectionery giant Cloetta.
Typically Dutch Despite having Swedish owners, Venco is about as Dutch as brands come, having a brand awareness of 98 per cent and dominating the liquorice market with a share of 30 per cent. “The fact our liquorice is passed on from generation to generation is what really makes us proud,” starts Bob Postma, Cloetta Holland’s marketing manager in Oosterhout. “If your brand exists for this long, it starts to become cultural heritage with specific types of our candy etched in people’s brains.” Postma takes their chalk for example; a small piece that resembles actual chalk, but is in truth a roll of liquorice, stuffed and coated with peppermint. “That is still the most favoured type of liquorice among our customers and we think part of that is its appeal to our culture. We create liquorice in the form of our clogs, cargo bikes