£3.7 million for good causes in 2024

With profits from the Kavli Group, which includes Primula Cheese and Castle MacLellan in the UK, Kavli Trust allocated £3.7 million to REfUSE and other good causes in 2024.

Kavli Trust owns the entire Kavli Group, including Primula Cheese and Castle MacLellan in the UK, and annually distributes all surplus profits after operations and development to charitable causes. This year, the total amount of allocations came to £3.7 million (50 million Norwegian kroner).

Currently, the foundation prioritises two areas in its allocations:

• Children and young people’s mental health, through projects that promotes inclusion, life skills, and education
• Climate and environment, through projects that increase knowledge and awareness of sustainable solutions, and projects that ensure the redistribution and reuse of resources.

“In addition to funding good projects, we work to promote collaboration, interaction, and synergies between our partners and stakeholders from various fields. This is absolutely necessary when addressing the major challenges of our time. Resources are utilised most effectively this way, and it is together that we find the best solutions,” says General Manager of Kavli Trust, Ingrid Paasche.

“Kavli Trust continually works to ensure that the support we provide has significant value. We want our funding to contribute to solving the major societal challenges of our time,” Paasche adds.

It was the founder’s son, Knut Kavli, who in 1962 established Kavli Trust and made the foundation the sole owner of the Kavli companies.

“He did this to ensure that Kavli remained under long-term ownership in Norwegian hands and that the values would benefit society as a whole. We are proud of our founders and their foresight. It is a great joy to be able to give back to society in this way,” says Paasche.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Olav Kavli’s launch of the world’s first long-life spreadable cheese, better known as Kavli spreadable cheese, which laid the foundation for a unique piece of Norwegian industrial history.

“Kavli spreadable cheese is still produced in Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, and remains a key product in the effort to create value for good causes. Kavli Trust therefore supports projects in all three countries,” continues Paasche.

Since its establishment in 1962, the foundation has distributed over 1.3 billion kroner to socially beneficial causes.

“This is thanks to our founders, but also to the many employees who have worked at Kavli over the years, and to the consumers who choose our companies’ products. Together, we create lasting value and contribute to positive societal change,” concludes Paasche.

The NOK 50 million is the same amount as in 2023. The GBP amount of 3.7 million is calculated based on the exchange rates throughout 2024.

Facts

• The Kavli Group was founded in Bergen by Olav Kavli in 1893.
• Today, the group produces food in Norway (Kavli and Q-Meieriene), Sweden (Kavli Sweden), and the United Kingdom (Primula Cheese and Castle MacLellan).
• Since 1962, the Kavli Group, as one of few groups and the only food group in Norway, has been wholly owned by a charitable foundation: Kavli Trust.
• Each year, the Kavli Group transfers its entire profit, after operations and development, as a dividend to Kavli Trust, which distributes it to good causes.
• Since Kavli Trust was established in 1962, the foundation has distributed a total of 1.3 billion NOK, most of it since 2000.
• Olav Kavli’s industrial adventure truly took off when he managed to make the world’s first long-lasting cream cheese under the name “Primula Cheese”, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2024.
• Today, Kavli produces a wide range of food products, but spreadable cheese (Primula Cheese in UK) remains the largest and most important brand.