Toms International

Toms International is a Danish confectionery company headquartered in Ballerup. Its product portfolio spans chocolate, liquorice and sugar confectionery, with brands sold primarily in Denmark and neighboring Nordic markets as well as the United Kingdom. The company is associated with a broad collection of Danish confectionery names, including Toms, Anthon Berg, Pingvin, Ga-Jol, Galle & Jessen, Yankie Bar, Holly Bar, Bogø Chokolade and Nellie Dellies. It also owns or has owned internationally recognizable specialty chocolate assets, including the German Hachez brand acquired through the purchase of Hanseatische Chocolade GmbH in 2011. The business began in Copenhagen in 1924 as Tom Chokoladefabrik A/S. Its founders, chemists Hans Trojel and Victor Hans Meyer, initially treated chocolate as an additional product for their chemists’ retail shop on Vesterbrogade. Between 1925 and 1929, they established production of their own confectionery products at premises on Prags Boulevard. This origin gave the company a combination of technical expertise, retail experience and an early focus on branded packaged confectionery. A major ownership transition occurred in 1942, when Victor B. Strand took control of the company. Strand subsequently acquired Anthon Berg, adding one of Denmark’s best-known chocolate names to the business. Toms later expanded beyond chocolate into liquorice and sugar confectionery. In the early 1960s, it acquired A/S J. Høeghs Lakrids og Sukkervarefabrikker, which was soon renamed Pingvin Lakrids. In 1971, Toms acquired A/S Galle & Jessen, bringing the Galle & Jessen and Ga-Jol names into its portfolio. The company’s industrial scale was reinforced by a major factory project designed in 1961 by Danish modernist architect Arne Jacobsen. Completed around 1962, the site included a 22,000-square-metre factory hall and a 3,000-square-metre administration building on a 220,000-square-metre property. The facility represented the transition from a Copenhagen confectionery producer into a large-scale manufacturer serving multiple markets. Toms’ final acquisition identified in the available reference material was Hanseatische Chocolade GmbH in Germany in 2011. The transaction brought the Hachez chocolate company and brand into Toms’ business. The company remains fully owned by the Gerda og Victor B. Strands Fond rather than being a publicly listed confectionery group. Toms produces approximately 50,000 tonnes of chocolate and sugar confectionery annually. Its workforce varies seasonally, with reported employment of roughly 1,200 to 1,700 people. In 2021, the company reported revenue of approximately DKK 1.6 billion. These figures indicate a substantial regional manufacturer whose commercial identity is built on a house of established confectionery brands rather than on a single globally dominant label. Its positioning combines Danish confectionery heritage, high-volume manufacturing and a portfolio approach covering chocolate bars, boxed and specialty chocolates, liquorice and other sugar-based products.

Toms International traces its origins to Copenhagen in 1924, when the chemists Hans Trojel and Victor Hans Meyer founded Tom Chokoladefabrik A/S. The founders initially sold chocolate as an additional product through their chemists’ retail shop on Vesterbrogade. They subsequently developed dedicated production of their own confectionery products at Prags Boulevard, with the expansion taking place between 1925 and 1929. In 1942, Victor B. Strand took over the company. Under Strand’s ownership, Toms broadened its position in the Danish confectionery industry through the acquisition of Anthon Berg, a chocolate business that later became one of the company’s principal brand assets. Anthon Berg received the designation “Purveyors to the Royal Danish Court” in 1957, according to the company’s historical account as summarized in the reference material. Toms invested in a major new industrial facility during the early 1960s. The factory was designed in 1961 by architect Arne Jacobsen and completed around 1962. The complex comprised a 22,000-square-metre factory hall and a 3,000-square-metre administration building on a site measuring 220,000 square metres. The project marked the development of Toms from a Copenhagen-based producer into a large-scale confectionery manufacturer. The company expanded into liquorice and sugar confectionery through the acquisition of A/S J. Høeghs Lakrids og Sukkervarefabrikker around the time the new factory was completed. That business was subsequently renamed Pingvin Lakrids. In 1971, Toms acquired A/S Galle & Jessen, adding the Galle & Jessen and Ga-Jol names to its portfolio and strengthening its presence in liquorice and related confectionery categories. Toms later pursued international portfolio expansion. In 2011, it acquired Hanseatische Chocolade GmbH in Germany, together with the Hachez company and chocolate brand. This transaction extended Toms’ business beyond its traditional Danish and Nordic base and added a German specialty-chocolate identity to its existing collection of brands. The company is fully owned by the Gerda og Victor B. Strands Fond. It operates as a privately owned confectionery group rather than a listed company. Its principal markets identified in the available material are Denmark, Sweden, Norway and the United Kingdom. Production is reported at approximately 50,000 tonnes of chocolate and sugar confectionery per year, while employment fluctuates between approximately 1,200 and 1,700 people depending on the season. Revenue in 2021 was reported at approximately DKK 1.6 billion. Across its history, Toms’ business has been defined by brand accumulation and category breadth. The Toms and Anthon Berg names represent its chocolate heritage; Pingvin, Ga-Jol and related names represent liquorice; and other labels, including Yankie Bar, Holly Bar, Bogø Chokolade and Nellie Dellies, extend the portfolio across bars and other packaged confectionery. The company’s current identity is therefore that of a Danish confectionery house with regional international distribution, rather than a narrowly focused single-product brand.

• 2011

  Hachez joins Toms’ portfolio

  [1]Toms Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Toms acquired Hanseatische Chocolade GmbH in Germany, including the Hachez chocolate business and brand.

• 1971

  Galle & Jessen acquired

  [1]Toms Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The acquisition of A/S Galle & Jessen added the Galle & Jessen and Ga-Jol brands to Toms’ portfolio.

• 1962

  New large-scale factory completed

  [1]Toms Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The new facility, comprising a large production hall and administration building, was completed around this time.

• 1962

  Pingvin Lakrids joins the company

  [1]Toms Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Toms acquired A/S J. Høeghs Lakrids og Sukkervarefabrikker, later renamed Pingvin Lakrids.

• 1961

  Arne Jacobsen designs a new factory

  [1]Toms Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  A major factory project was designed by Danish modernist architect Arne Jacobsen.

• 1957

  Anthon Berg receives royal court supplier designation

  [1]Toms Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Anthon Berg was awarded the designation of Purveyors to the Royal Danish Court.

• 1942

  Victor B. Strand takes control

  [1]Toms Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Victor B. Strand acquired the company and later added Anthon Berg to the business.

• 1925

  Own confectionery production begins expanding

  [1]Toms Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The founders began launching their own products from premises on Prags Boulevard during the period from 1925 to 1929.

• 1924

  Company founded as Tom Chokoladefabrik A/S

  [1]Toms Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Chemists Hans Trojel and Victor Hans Meyer founded the Copenhagen chocolate company that became Toms International.

A Danish confectionery house combining mass-market chocolate and sugar confectionery with established liquorice and premium chocolate brands.

• Chocolate and sugar confectionery

  Toms

  The Toms name is the company’s core Danish confectionery identity. It covers chocolate and sugar confectionery products within the broader Toms portfolio and represents the business’s original chocolate-making heritage.

• Chocolate

  Anthon Berg

  Anthon Berg is a historic Danish chocolate brand and a corporate division within Toms International. Toms added the business after Victor B. Strand took control of the company in 1942. The brand is associated with a broad range of chocolate products and received a royal court supplier designation in 1957.

• Liquorice and sugar confectionery

  Pingvin

  Pingvin derives from the liquorice business acquired by Toms from A/S J. Høeghs Lakrids og Sukkervarefabrikker. The acquired company was subsequently renamed Pingvin Lakrids, making the name an important part of Toms’ liquorice and sugar-confectionery offering.

• Liquorice

  Ga-Jol

  Ga-Jol is a liquorice brand associated with Galle & Jessen, which Toms acquired in 1971. It forms part of Toms’ established Danish liquorice portfolio alongside the Pingvin name.

• Confectionery

  Galle & Jessen

  Galle & Jessen is a historic confectionery name brought into Toms International through the 1971 acquisition of A/S Galle & Jessen. The name remains associated with Toms’ broader Danish confectionery portfolio.

• Chocolate bar

  Yankie Bar

  Yankie Bar is a popular Danish chocolate bar in the Toms portfolio. Its composition combines caramel and nougat covered with milk chocolate, giving it a layered bar format within the company’s mainstream chocolate range.

• Specialty chocolate

  Hachez

  Hachez is a German chocolate brand that entered Toms International’s portfolio through the 2011 acquisition of Hanseatische Chocolade GmbH. It adds a German specialty-chocolate identity to Toms’ primarily Danish and Nordic confectionery business.

• Chocolate confectionery

  Holly Bar

  Holly Bar is one of the confectionery brands listed within Toms International’s portfolio. The available reference material identifies it as part of the company’s chocolate and confectionery range but does not provide further product specifications.

• Chocolate

  Bogø Chokolade

  Bogø Chokolade is a chocolate brand included in Toms International’s portfolio. The available material does not specify its individual product formats or launch history.

• Sugar confectionery

  Nellie Dellies

  Nellie Dellies is a sugar-confectionery brand associated with Toms International. The reference material identifies the brand as part of the portfolio but does not provide detailed information about its product range.

• 2011

  Acquire Hanseatische Chocolade GmbHM&A

  Background

  Toms pursued international portfolio expansion by acquiring a German chocolate company associated with the Hachez brand.

  Action taken

  Toms acquired Hanseatische Chocolade GmbH and brought the Hachez company and brand into its business.

  Aftermath

  The transaction expanded Toms’ brand portfolio beyond its Danish and Nordic confectionery base.

  Source

1. 1Toms Internationalen.wikipedia.org