Anders Edvard Olsen Bergene (16 June 1855 – 18 August 1920) was a Norwegian businessperson. He founded the chocolate and confectionery company Bergene. Bergene was born at the parish of

Hedrum Hedrum is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1988. The area is now part of Larvik Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Nanset (from 1978-1988; prio ...

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

, Norway. He was the son of Ole Kristian Hansen (1828-1900) and Edel Marie Andersdatter. He departed early from home, first to

Skien Skien () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsjø area and Bø. The administrative ...

, then at age 20 to

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

(now Oslo), where he had several positions with retail stores, including with merchant F. H. Dethloff. He worked as a wholesaler under the trade name ''A. Bergene Colonial en Gros'' from 1882 and from 1890 he also sold candy and peppermint lozenges. In 1906, he acquired the firm of ''A/S Olaf Larsens Chocoladefabrik''. He expanded the operation to establish ''A. Bergene Chokoladefabrik'', a

chocolate factory ''Chocolate Factory'' is the fifth studio album by American recording artist R. Kelly, released on February 18, 2003, by Jive Records. Recording sessions took place mainly at Rockland Studios and Chicago Recording Company in Chicago, Illinois, ...

in the neighborhood of

Rodeløkka Rodeløkka is a neighborhood in Grünerløkka in Oslo, Norway. History From 1900 to 1961, it was served by the Rodeløkka Line of the Oslo Tramway. The name The property was bought by the dean ''Frederik Rode'' in 1854. The last element is t ...

. The confectionery quickly became one of the leaders in Norway with large range of chocolate and candy products. In 1919, one year before his death, the ownership was transferred to his son Alf Bergene (1887-1967). The company became a

limited company In a limited company, the Legal liability, liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a c ...

in 1961 under the trade name ''Bergene A/S'' which merged with Nidar A/S in 1980. In 1987 Nidar was bought by

Nora Industrier Nora Industrier was a Norwegian company, most of its history involved in manufacturing of soft drinks and foodstuffs. It traced its history back to the brewery St. Halvard Bryggeri, established in Pilestredet in 1877. It originally brewed beer onl ...

and in 1992, the company became part of

Orkla Group Orkla ASA is a Norwegian conglomerate operating in Europe, Asia and the US. At present, Orkla operates in the branded consumer goods, aluminium products and financial investment sectors. Orkla ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and its he ...

References

External links

Orkla Confectionery & Snacks website
1855 births 1920 deaths People from Vestfold Norwegian company founders Norwegian industrialists {{Norway-business-bio-stub