Synnøve Finden
A Norwegian dairy company and challenger brand producing cheese, brown cheese, butter, and juice.
Last updated October 30, 2026
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Overview
Synnøve Finden is a Norwegian dairy company whose best-known products are cheese and brown cheese, or brunost. The business operates as a domestic challenger to Tine, Norway’s dominant dairy cooperative, and has historically competed in a market shaped by strong agricultural regulation, cooperative processing, and established national food brands. Its activities include the production and sale of yellow cheeses, traditional Norwegian brown cheese, butter, and juice. The company has farms and production-related operations associated with Alvdal Municipality and Namsos Municipality, while its headquarters are in Oslo. The brand takes its name from Synnøve Finden, a Norwegian cheese entrepreneur who lived from 1882 to 1957. In 1928, she opened a cheese factory on Oslo’s Grefsen Plateau together with Pernille Holmen and Holmen’s thirteen-year-old daughter, Evy. The business gained early recognition after its cheese was presented through the Hjemmenes Vel housewives’ associations. This historical origin gives the brand a connection to small-scale Norwegian cheesemaking and female entrepreneurship, even though the modern corporate structure emerged much later. In 1987, Synnøve Finden A/S was sold to Dag Swanstrøm, and production moved to Enebakk Municipality. Under Swanstrøm’s ownership, the company developed into a national competitor to the Norwegian dairy cooperative system. The modern challenger phase began in the 1990s. The company launched its yellow cheese on 21 September 1996 and introduced brown cheese in 1997. These launches occurred during a period when Norway was beginning to open the dairy sector to greater competition. In January 1997, Agriculture Minister Gunhild Øyangen stated that the government and the Norwegian Farmers’ Association had agreed to allow increased competition in the sector. From 1996 through 2008, Synnøve Finden established itself as Tine’s first nationwide Norwegian competitor across both yellow cheese and brunost. The company was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange for part of its history but is currently described as privately owned. In 2008, Norwegian entrepreneurs Jan Bodd and Stig Sunde became new owners. About ten years later, Karl Kristian Sunde joined as a partner and owner. Synnøve Finden’s positioning combines traditional Norwegian dairy products with the role of an independent challenger in a centrally concentrated market. Its portfolio is rooted in familiar domestic categories rather than highly specialized international luxury goods. The company has also sought growth outside Norway. In 2020, it expanded brown cheese sales to South Korea, and by May 2021 more than 52,000 units had reportedly been sold there. The South Korean campaign demonstrated the portability of brown cheese as a distinctive Norwegian food, although Norway remains the company’s primary market.
History
Synnøve Finden’s corporate history combines a long Norwegian cheesemaking tradition with the formation of a modern independent dairy challenger. The brand is named after Synnøve Finden, who lived from 1882 to 1957 and is regarded as one of Norway’s earliest female cheese founders and factory owners. In 1928, she established a cheese factory on the Grefsen Plateau in Oslo with Pernille Holmen and Holmen’s thirteen-year-old daughter, Evy. The enterprise gained attention when its products were introduced through the Hjemmenes Vel housewives’ associations, helping the cheese reach consumers beyond its immediate production base. The business changed hands in 1987, when Synnøve Finden A/S was sold to Dag Swanstrøm. Production subsequently moved to Enebakk Municipality. Swanstrøm’s ownership was important in transforming the enterprise from a historic cheese business into a potential national competitor. The company’s modern market breakthrough came in the 1990s, when Norway’s dairy sector was still strongly influenced by the cooperative Norwegian Dairies, later associated with Tine. The company launched yellow cheese on 21 September 1996 and brown cheese in 1997. The market environment also began to change. In January 1997, Agriculture Minister Gunhild Øyangen of the Labour Party said that the government and the Norwegian Farmers’ Association had agreed to open the dairy sector to competition. This policy direction helped establish the context in which Synnøve Finden could challenge the incumbent cooperative. Between 1996 and 2008, the company became Tine’s first nationwide Norwegian competitor in both yellow cheese and brunost. Its identity therefore developed around two linked ideas: continuity with traditional Norwegian dairy foods and competition with a powerful established market leader. The company later became associated with dairy operations and farms in Alvdal Municipality and Namsos Municipality. Its product activities expanded beyond cheese to include butter and juice. Although the business was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange during an earlier phase, it is currently described as privately owned. In 2008, Jan Bodd and Stig Sunde became new owners. About ten years after that transaction, Karl Kristian Sunde joined as a partner and owner. International expansion has remained selective rather than transforming Synnøve Finden into a broadly global dairy group. In 2020, the company expanded brown cheese sales to South Korea. By May 2021, more than 52,000 units had reportedly been sold there. The move used brunost’s distinctive Norwegian provenance as an international selling point. Norway nevertheless remains the central market and the principal setting for the company’s competitive role.
- 2020
South Korean brown cheese expansion
[1]The company expanded sales of brown cheese to South Korea.
- 2018
Karl Kristian Sunde joins ownership
[1]Approximately ten years after the 2008 ownership change, Karl Kristian Sunde joined as a partner and owner.
- 2008
Bodd and Sunde become owners
[1]Norwegian founders Jan Bodd and Stig Sunde took ownership of the company.
- 1997
Brown cheese launch and dairy-market opening
[1]Synnøve Finden introduced brown cheese, while Norwegian authorities announced a move toward greater competition in the dairy sector.
- 1996
Yellow cheese launch
[1]The company launched its yellow cheese on 21 September, establishing the modern national challenger brand.
- 1987
Business sold to Dag Swanstrøm
[1]Synnøve Finden A/S was sold to Dag Swanstrøm, and production moved to Enebakk Municipality.
- 1928
First Synnøve Finden cheese factory opens
[1]Synnøve Finden, Pernille Holmen, and Holmen’s daughter Evy opened a cheese factory on Oslo’s Grefsen Plateau.
Products and positioning
Traditional Norwegian dairy products offered by an independent challenger to the country's dominant dairy cooperative.
Cheese · 1996
Yellow cheese
Yellow cheese is one of Synnøve Finden’s core product categories and was the product used for the company’s major 1996 market launch. It helped establish the brand as a nationwide competitor to Tine in Norway’s mainstream cheese market. The category represents the company’s focus on familiar Norwegian dairy staples rather than niche or purely specialty products.
Traditional Norwegian cheese · 1997
Brown cheese
Brown cheese, known in Norway as brunost, is a traditional Norwegian dairy product and a defining part of Synnøve Finden’s portfolio. Introduced by the company in 1997, it became important both to its domestic challenger identity and to its international story. The company expanded sales of brown cheese to South Korea in 2020, demonstrating how the product’s distinctive Norwegian character could support export activity.
Dairy
Butter
Butter is part of Synnøve Finden’s dairy range. It extends the brand beyond cheese into another established Norwegian household staple and complements the company’s broader positioning in traditional dairy foods.
Beverages
Juice
Juice is included among the products associated with Synnøve Finden. Unlike the company’s core cheese and butter activities, juice represents a move into an adjacent food-and-beverage category.
Brand decisions
2020
Expansion of brown cheese sales into South KoreaStrategyBackground
The company sought international opportunities for a product strongly associated with Norwegian food culture.
Action taken
Synnøve Finden expanded sales of brown cheese in South Korea.
Aftermath
More than 52,000 units were reportedly sold in South Korea by May 2021.
1997
Introduction of brown cheeseProduct launchBackground
The company was building a national challenger position around recognizable Norwegian dairy products.
Action taken
Synnøve Finden added brown cheese to its portfolio.
Aftermath
Brunost became an important product in the company’s domestic range and later supported expansion into South Korea.
1996
Launch of national yellow-cheese challengeProduct launchBackground
Norway’s dairy market was dominated by the cooperative Norwegian Dairies, creating a difficult environment for an independent competitor.
Action taken
Synnøve Finden launched its yellow cheese on 21 September 1996 and began competing on a national basis.
Aftermath
The launch formed part of the company’s emergence as Tine’s first nationwide Norwegian competitor in cheese.
Recent events
- 2021
More than 52,000 brown cheeses sold in South Korea[1]
Product generation
By May 2021, more than 52,000 units of Synnøve Finden brown cheese had reportedly been sold in South Korea.
- 2020
Brown cheese sales expand to South Korea[1]
Product launch
Synnøve Finden expanded sales of brown cheese in South Korea, extending the reach of a distinctive Norwegian product beyond its home market.
- 2008
New owners take control of Synnøve Finden[1]
M&A · Leadership change
Norwegian founders Jan Bodd and Stig Sunde became the company’s new owners, beginning a new phase of private ownership.
- 1997
Synnøve Finden introduces brown cheese[1]
Product launch · Product generation
The company expanded its portfolio with brown cheese, a traditional Norwegian dairy product that became central to its domestic identity and later international development.
- 1997
Norway moves toward greater dairy competition[1]
Regulation
Agriculture Minister Gunhild Øyangen stated that the Norwegian government and the Norwegian Farmers’ Association had agreed to open the dairy sector to competition, creating a more favorable environment for Synnøve Finden’s challenger strategy.
- 1996
Synnøve Finden launches yellow cheese[1]
Product launch · Product generation
The company launched its yellow cheese nationally on 21 September 1996, marking a major step in its development as a challenger to Norway’s established dairy cooperative.
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