Bagsværd Lakrids

Award-winning Danish liquorice!

Photograph: Bagsværd Lakrids FP Page

Text: Mariano Anthony Davies

Founded in 2015, Bagsværd Lakrids quickly gained a reputation for the quality of the rich handmade liquorice caramels they produce and are now widely recognised as the world’s finest. The product was a GOLD winner at the Danish Liquorice Taste Award in 2020. Previous winners include the Danish Liquorice made by Bulow, who won the Bronze Award in 2019 and the Silver Award in 2018.

Bagsværd Lakrids started as a fun hobby, but after a year of experiments at home, the founders chose to focus on exclusive and handmade liquorice. For their dream of owning a business to come true, it required special packaging with just the right barrier properties. At the same time, the packaging should complement the exclusive content and be inviting to the end customers at the time of purchase.

Right from the start of their liquorice production, they have been nervous about whether they could package the products. Liquorice is a particularly sensitive product with a soft and moist surface, which absorbs and releases moisture to the surroundings—becoming a little liquid. Therefore, they have carried out countless packaging tests and been in contact with many manufacturers, explains Morten Kornbech Larsen, Director and one of the founders of Bagsværd Lakrids.

Unique packaging for exclusive liquorice

In the search for the perfect packaging, Morten Kornbech Larsen came across Procudan, who accepted the challenge of finding the perfect packaging for the exclusive liquorice.

It was a rather special task with requirements that Procudan had not previously tried to meet. Nevertheless, they agreed to make the attempt to develop a unique packaging made exclusively for Bagsværd Lakrids, according to Jens D. Kønigsfeldt, Account Packaging Manager at Procudan.

After a period of close dialogue and several tests of the end product in different packaging, Procudan presented the entrepreneurs with possible solutions that matched the unique requirements liquorice sets for the packaging's barrier properties, strength and usability properties. They also had to harmonise with EU legislation and the general guidelines for food packaging.

They chose a bag in three-layer laminate foil with outer brown paper for the minibar. The bag has tear marks, which make it easy for the end consumer to open the minibar and enjoy it ‘on-the-go’. “We are very satisfied with the packaging, which exudes exclusivity and supports our high-end liquorice”, says Morten Kornbech Larsen.

"Bagsværd Lakrids started as a fun hobby, but after a year of experiments at home, the founders chose to focus on exclusive and handmade liquorice. For their dream of owning a business to come true, it required special packaging with just the right barrier properties."

Great flexibility in the daily collaboration

Bagsværd Lakrids has chosen to be responsible for the design of the packaging, and they, therefore, deliver the finished print design to Procudan, who is subsequently responsible for the production. Before customers can enjoy the packaged liquorice, it is packed by hand, and the bag securely welded by Bagsværd Lakrids.

When Bagsværd Lakrids won a gold medal in the Danish Liquorice Taste Award, they subsequently wanted to tell the good news on the packaging and quickly adjusted to reflect the great recognition.

Quick help in times of crisis

Flexibility was also felt by the liquorice producer as the security of the supply of mini bags was seriously threatened due to corona. As Morten Kornbech Larsen explains:

“Christmas is our festive season, and suddenly, there were 60,000 mini bags missing in the middle of the autumn due to the corona situation, and we were in serious trouble with a prospect of losing around DKK 100,000. On top of the financial slap, we had to disappoint our 350 dealers and tell them that their empty shelves were unfortunately not filled up for Christmas with the expected liquorice. Fortunately, Procudan managed to find a solution at a very critical time.”

The entrepreneurs were able to breathe a sigh of relief and, without delay, deliver the handmade liquorice as agreed to selected specialty stores across the country.

They are experiencing an enormous demand for their products, and it is therefore extra important for an entrepreneurial company like Bagsværd Lakrids to prove to its customers that it is trustworthy and can, of course, deliver on time.”

There are no standard solutions at the award-winning and uncompromising liquorice producer Bagsværd Lakrids. This applies not only to the company's production of liquorice but also to the packaging. It required a series of tests to arrive at the right packaging that both frames and profiles the exclusive liquorice.

Bagsværd Lakrids has a four-star rating on TrustPilot.