A story worth sharing

The history of the Kavli Trust began in 1872, the same year that Norway’s King Haakon VII was born, when Olav Kavli also entered the world.

This boy from Molde on the west Norwegian coast was ambitious. While few people at the time spent long at school, Olav acquired an education and had established his own company at the age of just 21.

Olav was determined. After much trial and error, he was able to present the world’s first spreadable cheese which was also durable in 1924. Named Primula, this product marked his breakthrough. The company did well and expanded steadily. After 16 years, it had operations in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the UK.

Olav Kavli died in 1958 and was succeeded by his son, Knut Kavli. Knut and his wife Karin Kavli never had children. On April 25, 1962, the O. Kavli and Knut Kavli Charitable Trust, today called Kavli Trust, was established and made the sole owner of the Kavli company. From the outset, the purpose was ”to promote humanitarian work, scientific research and culture”. This was to be done by distributing all profits from the company to good causing.

That’s why we say that “We love to share”. By donating all profits to good causes, sharing the love is as easy as enjoying our cheese.

In 2022 we have been sharing for 60 years.

See images from our history here.

 

Now, the book “Kavli – an industrial fairytale. Wealth creation for a good cause”, is available online. Click on the image to open the book.