The Craft
Haupt Lakrits is a small liquorice atelier in Sweden – founded in 2014 by a liquorice-obsessed entrepreneur who refused to follow the rules.
We taste until our tongues go numb, then we taste again. Every recipe we develop is inspired by the belief that liquorice deserves the same respect and craftsmanship as the finest chocolate in the world.
Sometimes we make liquorice that takes you on a journey of memories, scents and feelings. Sometimes we make liquorice unlike anything you've tasted before. Wherever it takes you, every piece is made to surprise, challenge and redefine what liquorice can be.
Calabrian raw liquorice
Small-batch production
The origin story – it all started in Iceland
In 2012, Christian Haupt had plans to start a chocolate brand. Then he went to Iceland.
There, he tasted how Icelanders combined liquorice and chocolate – and realised it was liquorice he actually wanted to make. He came home from holiday and started Haupt Lakrits that same week.
Months followed of searching for ingredients and suppliers across the globe. The goal was never to make just another liquorice. The goal was to make the best in the world.
By the Liquorice Festival in March 2014, the first products were ready – CHOK and KRISP, two pralines with chocolate-coated liquorice. The packaging didn't arrive from the factory in time, so the night before, we sat sticking labels onto makeshift glass jars well into the small hours.
Visitors didn't care about the jars. They cared about the taste. In the months that followed, we tested over 50 liquorice recipes before launching our sweet and salty liquorice with 9% raw liquorice from Calabria in August 2014 – the liquorice that's still at the heart of everything we do.
Only the finest ingredients
Raw liquorice from Calabria. Belgian chocolate. Sea salt from Iceland and Brittany. We chase origin, not shortcuts.
It's not just candy
We believe liquorice is going through the same journey dark chocolate once did: origin, ingredients and craftsmanship suddenly matter.
Rules are made to be broken
Affected or outraged. Incite emotions or go home. Nothing is sacred, and safe liquorice is rarely interesting.
What we live and die by
- Liquorice should be intense, adult and unforgettable.
- Craftsmanship beats shortcuts.
- Origin and natural ingredients matter.
- A recipe is finished only when it makes someone react.
- Small batches leave more room for obsession.
- Affected or outraged. Incite emotions or go home.
- "Too salty" is a compliment.
"The day we no longer affect or upset – let us know. Then we'll take off our aprons and call it a day."
– Christian Haupt, Founder
Christian & Rasmus
Christian Haupt is the man who was going to start a chocolate company – until Iceland changed his mind. Today, he's the founder of Haupt Lakrits.
Rasmus Ragnarsson runs the day-to-day business, together with the team in Jordbro who taste, test, and taste again until the recipe is right.
Gold is no exception
We've made liquorice with 24-carat gold leaf, sturgeon caviar and 100-year-old balsamic vinegar – not because it made sense, but because we wanted to see if it could be done. It could.
