The HALVA history and traditions begin more than 85 years ago, in Europe in the 1930’s. The company was founded by the Greek brothers Jean and Michael Karavokyros. The HALVA candy factory began its operations in 1931, when the first product, the Greek national specialty product Halva, was manufactured.

The Karavokyros brothers left their home country Greece behind them as teenagers in order to look for work abroad. They had heard from other relatives that the economy in St. Petersburg was flourishing and that work was available there. Before the trip, the grandmother passed the secret family recipe for halva to the boys, so the boys would have something valuable they could perhaps use abroad.

The journey was long and tiresome. The brothers were, however, determined to succeed and wanted a better life than what Greece had to offer at that time. After arriving in St. Petersburg, they quickly found jobs at a food factory. They also discovered that halva was also found in the shops of St. Petersburg and that the product was popular among the Russian people.
Due to the emerging Russian Civil War, they were forced to retreat to another country. They made a quick decision to travel to the neighboring country of Finland, because they had some relatives there and as it was close by.

The brothers arrived in Finland in 1922 and decided to stay in the capital Helsinki to find jobs. They had a variety of odd jobs, and noted to their satisfaction that halva was well-known and popular also in Finland. They also made the discovery that there was no production of halva in Finland, all the products were imported. An obvious opportunity to use Grandma’s recipe had presented itself.

Watch a video of our long wonderful history here

Mission

We want to bring delight and taste experiences to the consumer and manufacture quality licorice sweets – the best licorice in the world.

Vision

Our most important goal is a satisfied customer. By manufacturing the best licorice in the world, we make our customers happy.

Values

Our core value is family entrepreneurship. This value is reflected on all of our business processes.

Family entrepreneurship means to us that our owners are committed to hands-on work. At the company, creating a good work place for the personnel and taking responsibility for social issues of our community. Therefore Halva’s products are a responsible choice, which you can enjoy in good spirit and with a good conscience. The world’s best licorice is created through a good and responsible way of working.

Social responsibility

Social responsibility is the foundation of our existence. We act responsibly and adhere to ethically acceptable principles in all we do.

A socially responsible way of working lies in the foundation of the Halva family entrepreneurship. Social responsibility means to Halva that the business is long term, the owners are strongly committed to the company, the personnel are proud of their work, and taken care of, long employment relationships and paying taxes to Finland. Raw and packaging materials are only sourced from ethical and socially responsible suppliers.

The world’s best licorice is manufactured in Finland, because licorice is manufactured with a high ethical standard, making the product high quality and safe. The same applies to all the sweets we manufacture.