A Taste of Norway For almost a century, Hennig-Olsen Is has provided premium-quality ice cream from its factory in the south of Norway. The family-owned company has passed down its secret ice cream recipes for three generations, proudly delivering ‘the cream of ice cream’ to ice cream-loving Norwegians and tourists alike. By Maria Vole | Photos: Hennig-Olsen
Norwegians love ice cream; there’s no doubt about that. Norway is among the top-three countries in the world when it comes to ice cream consumption, with each Norwegian person eating on average 12 litres of ice cream per year. A huge amount of the ice cream enjoyed by Norwegians and visitors to Norway alike comes from one place: the Hennig-Olsen ice cream factory in Kristiansand, Norway. The oldest ice cream producer in Norway, Hennig-Olsen has a strong his66 | Issue 133 | February 2020
tory and tradition. The production started in 1924, when Sven Hennig-Olsen, who had learnt the art of ice cream making while living in Chicago, returned to his hometown of Kristiansand. Bringing recipes and equipment with him on his return, he set about to bring great-quality ice cream to Norway. Due to the growing popularity of the ice cream Sven made, the first Hennig-Olsen ice cream factory was opened in 1960. Since then, the company has remained family-owned and is currently in its third generation, with Paal Hennig-Olsen continuing
his grandfather’s work as president of the company.
Passion, pride and fun This begs the question: how has Hennig-Olsen been able to sustain this remarkable success for so many years? “Passion,” Paal says. “The pure passion for ice cream that has been there since the beginning. We have a lot of enthusiasm and curiosity, and we take pride in what we do. This is such a fun industry to be in, and at Hennig-Olsen we have so many talented people working with us.” Dedicated to creating ‘the crème de la crème’, Hennig-Olsen believes that excellent taste and quality start with excellent ingredients. It has a long tradition of combining premium-quality ice cream, made using secret recipes passed down