| THE HISTORY OF HÄGGES Hägges was started in 1956 by two cousins, Thage and Torsten Häggström. The company was first financed by a winning bet on a harness race of SEK 750, which was used to purchase a small bakery in Domsjö near what was then the MODO paper plant. They pawned an accordion with a wholesaler in order to get money for raw materials. The cousins' idea was to complement their respective talents. Thorsten came up with recipes for delicious pastries and Thage was an ace at sales and marketing. In the beginning, they baked sweet biscuits, which were taken to shops around Örnsköldsvik in a used Austin delivery van. Sales were good and the sweet biscuits were soon replaced by almond cookies and other pastry items. In 1957, 15 people worked at the bakery and the first sales drivers were hired. Slowly but surely the market expanded and in the years that followed, brothers, cousins, neighbours and in-laws were sent out into the country to sell Hägges pastries. As early as 1959 Hägges had sales of SEK 1 million and the product range included around 60 products. In the early 1960s new packaging was developed, a plastic tray containing cookies with cellophane wrapping. Delivering cookies to shops in attractive packaging was something of a revolution in the industry. Earlier, cookies had been hidden under the shelf because they were packaged in cardboard boxes that became greasy and unsightly. But by displaying the cookies in attractive bags coloured in gold and purple, sales increased, which made the shop owners and the bakers extremely happy. Hägges had to work at full speed to be able to deliver the new packages. Through excellent sales pitches and attractive packaging, the cookies were established in more and more regions. In 1970, Hägges invested in a new, modern bakery with production using the assembly line concept in Själevad, near highway E 4 just south of Örnsköldsvik. The plant was one of Europe's most modern bakeries with three production lines. It was expanded several times during the years that followed. The bakery constantly increased its sales and in 1976 the cousins decided to sell their lifework to Glacebolaget AB. The company was put up for sale again in 1979, and this time it was Pågen in Malmö who purchased the company and held it until 2000 when Erik Ekegren (at that time Chairman of the Board in Pågen Gruppen AB) made a so-called "management-buy-out," left Pågen and took over ownership of Hägges Finbageri AB. (Source: Tokpojkar - historien om Allbröd by Marcus Bodin, etc.) |
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  Hägges business concept Company facts History of Hägges |
