Home Our Story Range Recipes How we make Primula Good Causes Contact Our Story Good Causes Charitable Projects Our Story The company behind Primula is called Kavli and it has a long history and a strong ethical heritage which underpins the wholesome values and family traditions of the Primula brand. Kavli is different to most other businesses because its sole purpose is to generate funds which can be used to support good causes. 1872 – Olav Kavli is born Olav Kavli was born in 1872 and grew up on a farm in the charming village of Aro, close to Molde on the coast of Norway. 1893 – Making a dream a reality Having attended business school in Bergen and at the age of 21 he realised his dream and started a business buying and selling cheese. Olav Kavli had a keen business talent and big ambitions and he quickly developed his range of cheeses and expanded his trading area. Packing a suitcase with cheese he travelled the world and developed trading links in many countries. 1924 – Primula Cheese is born Recognising that there was an opportunity for a cheese that was easy to spread and had good keeping qualities, Olav Kavli set about inventing a new type of cheese and a new way to make it. In 1924 he successfully launched Primula Cheese, the world’s first durable soft cheese, and named it after the first flowers of spring that appeared around his home in Norway. 1929 – Primula sales expanded Having secured a strong position in his home market, Kavli introduced the first tube packaging used for cheese spreads and began to sell Primula Cheese abroad where one of the more successful export markets was the UK. 1936 – Primula first made in the UK Kavli’s international business was expanded by Olav’s son, Knut Kavli, and manufacturing operations were established in Denmark, England and Sweden. Primula was first made in the UK in 1936 just outside Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and after a few factory extensions, moved to the current site on the Team Valley, Gateshead in 1962. 1961 – The Kavli Trust established Olav and Knut Kavli carried out their business with the intention of ‘giving more back to the local community than just taxes’ and Kavli was renowned for supporting good causes both locally and internationally. In 1958 Olav Kavli passed away, leaving the business to his son Knut. Unfortunately Knut had no children to take on the business and looked for a way to ensure that its social conscience was secured for the future. He took the bold decision to establish a charitable foundation which would be the sole owner and shareholder of the Kavli business. In 1962 O Kavli og Knut Kavli’s Alymennttige Fond was established in Norway, now simply known as Kavlifondet or the Kavli Trust, with a legal duty to carry on the good works of the Kavli family by donating profits to research, culture and humanitarian projects. Kavli in the UK Kavli runs three sites in the UK with Primula Ltd producing Primula cheese and dips in Gateshead, Castle MacLellan Foods which makes exquisite Scottish pate in Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and St Helens Farm producing the finest goat’s milk, yogurt and cheese in Yorkshire. Kavli UK is part of the larger Kavli Group which has commercial operations in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland and whose sole purpose is to generate funds for the Kavli Trust. Registered offices at Primula Ltd, Kingsway, Team Valley Trading Estate, Tyne & Wear, NE11 0ST. Registration Number 314886 Contact Us Disclaimer Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Standard Competition Rules Primula is proud to be part of the Kavli Group. Kavli is owned by the Kavli Trust which supports good causes both in the UK and abroad. Site Designed & Built by MBLSolutions Ltd.