Lakrids by Bülow from Denmark turns liquorice into a spice
Lakrids by Bülow is a Danish liquorice manufacturer, founded on July 7, 2007, by Johan Bülow in Svaneke on Bornholm. It became known for its chocolate-coated liquorice balls; today, it produces in Hvidovre near Copenhagen and is B-Corp certified.
Lakrids by Bülow stands for Danish liquorice that is not intended as a children's sweet, but as an ingredient with its own distinct character. Johan Bülow has been cooking liquorice root himself since 2007 and has been coating it in chocolate since 2009 – from this single idea, a range of pure varieties, chocolate liquorice, and seasonal editions has emerged. We were among the first shops in Germany to offer it.
The shop that was empty after two hours
On July 7, 2007, Johan Bülow opened a small shop in Svaneke on Bornholm and cooked the liquorice there himself – specifically in such a way that you could smell it within a 100-meter radius.
The scent did its job. After two hours, the shop was empty, and the last customer even took the samples from the counter. Johan Bülow comes from a family of entrepreneurs and had set his mind on creating something that didn't exist yet. Of all things, liquorice – a sweet that everyone in Scandinavia knows and that no one thought about anymore.
A year later, cooking in the shop was no longer enough. In 2008, he bought a liquorice machine and set up a small factory in Taastrup, where the pure varieties No. 1 to No. 4 were created. The smallest liquorice factory in the world, as the company calls it itself – at the time, that was no understatement.
For its tenth anniversary in 2017, Lakrids by Bülow formulated its claim in a sentence that still holds true today: Turning sceptics into liquorice lovers, one exquisite piece at a time. Today, production is based in Hvidovre on the outskirts of Copenhagen, a good distance from Bornholm.
Numbers for pure, letters for chocolate
The range is strictly organised: numbers 1 to 4 stand for pure liquorice, letters A to F for liquorice with chocolate, and the seasonal editions run in between.
The pure varieties are the root of it all. No. 1 is sweet and carries a hint of anise; No. 2 works with salmiak, a salt that has long been a part of liquorice in Nordic countries and adds a sour aroma alongside the salty notes. In Scandinavia, this is the most popular variety of all.
No. 4 comes with habanero, and Johan Bülow originally found the chillies for it in Mexico. Later, he had them grown in Denmark to maintain control over the quality himself. Both varieties carry a warning that they are intended for adults, and that is not just a flirtation.
The letter series started in 2009 with A – The Original, a sweet centre in milk chocolate, rolled in liquorice powder. Johan Bülow got the idea to dip liquorice in chocolate from Iceland, where this combination had long been known; in Denmark, it was initially considered a mistake. Today, the range extends from C – Sour Strawberry with a red centre under a green sugar shell to F – Dark Sea Salt in dark chocolate.
Each of these balls is built in three layers: inside is the soft liquorice core, surrounded by a chocolate coating, and on the outside, a shell of fruit powder, sugar, or raw liquorice. Sweet, salty, sour, and spicy – each variety occupies a different corner, and none is like its neighbour.
Only the middle of the root
Liquorice root is up to 50 times sweeter than sugar, and Lakrids by Bülow uses only the middle part of the root because that is where the flavour is.
The front and back ends are resold instead of thrown away. Cooking is done with rice flour instead of wheat, which is why all liquorice is gluten-free and contains no gelatine – which is by no means a given for liquorice. How strong a variety tastes is controlled by the proportion of liquorice extract, and this fluctuates significantly across the range: the pure varieties contain several times more than what is found in a chocolate ball.
In addition to the core range, there is the organic-quality Slow Crafted line. This liquorice is cooked for four hours, giving it a caramelised, denser texture, and it comes in a reusable glass jar with engraved measurements that can be refilled.
The packaging has also changed in other ways: since 2020, Lakrids has been sealing its jars with aluminium-free foil. And the company is B-Corp certified, meaning its working methods are externally audited according to social and environmental criteria.
A Hall of Fame and a taste panel
New varieties at Lakrids are not developed at a desk. They first go through the Lakrids Lovers taste panel before Johan Bülow approves a recipe.
Those that score well enter the market as a limited edition. And if the customers don't stop asking, the variety enters the Hall of Fame and becomes a year-round product. That is how the summer hit Sour Strawberry became the permanent C, which replaced the former coffee letter. Conversely, the company maintains a liquorice graveyard, from which varieties can also return.
The Lakrids Lovers are more than just a marketing name. Those who sign up get to taste new varieties before they hit the market and are asked to rate them, and this score is a key factor in sales discussions later on – Cherry Sour, for example, made it into the Winter Collection 2026 with 4.6 out of 5.
Lakrids by Bülow rarely mentions awards – the brand prefers to rely on its own community rather than juries. So, if you want to know whether a new variety is a success, the answer is not in a certificate, but in whether it's back on the shelf the following year.
Through the year with Lakrids
Only a small part of the range is available year-round. The larger part comes and goes with the seasons, and each season brings its own varieties.
Between Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, the LOVE edition with a heart-shaped core is available; at Easter, the egg-shaped ÆGG varieties follow; in the spring, Lime Crackle with a green sugar shell; in the summer, LEMON and Pink Pineapple. Winter includes CLASSIC Caramel with blonde Dulce chocolate and Crispy Raspberry with raspberry.
We deliberately do not stock two of the manufacturer's seasons: the Anniversary series and the Halloween varieties. So, if a variety appears in the brand portal that we don't have, it is not a gap, but a decision.
If a seasonal variety is currently unavailable in the shop, it is due to this exact logic. It will return next year, usually with a new design and a slightly modified recipe – at Lakrids, a winter variety is never the same twice.
For gifting, the company has its own formats: the Winter Selection Box with eight varieties behind round windows, smaller boxes for a quick gesture, and the Advent calendar with 24 little doors. All are designed so that you can present them without wrapping paper.
Anyone who has never liked liquorice is best off starting with the chocolate varieties and working their way inwards: first lots of chocolate and little root, then vice versa. Those who already know it know which letter is their favourite anyway – and prefer to discuss whether the new winter vintage measures up to the last one.
