Göteborgs Kex

What it is

Göteborgs Kex, literally "Gothenburg Biscuits", are a familiar sight in Swedish cupboards and on café trays. They are not a dish cooked at home but a mass-produced sweet that has become part of the national rhythm. The name refers to the city of Gothenburg; the company, now owned by the Norwegian group Orkla, dates from 1888 and baked for generations in the nearby town of Kungälv.

The product line is defined by two distinct shapes and fillings. The most recognisable is Ballerina, launched in 1963, a sandwich biscuit with a thick layer of hazelnut-chocolate cream between two crisp round biscuits. The second is Singoalla, a shortbread-style biscuit with a fruit filling such as blueberry or raspberry. Both are designed to be sweet, intended to accompany coffee rather than stand alone as a meal.

This is a supermarket product rather than a regional craft item made in small batches. It does not claim to be the oldest Swedish biscuit or a recipe passed down through generations of bakers. Instead, it represents a standardised taste that has been consistent for over a century, appearing on menus and in tins across the country.

The factory in Kungälv

For well over a century the biscuits were made in Kungälv, a town just north of Gothenburg, where the factory stood by the Nordre älv river from 1888. The business carried the name Göteborgs Kex, using the city's identity to signal quality and local origin. In 2018 Orkla announced that production would move to a new factory near Riga in Latvia, and the Kungälv factory was wound down by the end of 2022; product development stayed in Sweden.

The location is significant because it ties the product directly to the region of Västra Götaland. Gothenburg itself is the main destination linked to these biscuits, and visitors often find them in local shops or on café tables as a souvenir of the city.

Naming the company after the nearby city rather than the factory town borrowed Gothenburg's standing. In this case, the name serves as a guarantee of the recipe's longevity rather than a claim of artisanal status. The biscuits are distributed widely, ensuring that they are available in supermarkets from Stockholm to Malmö.

What goes into it

The ingredients for Göteborgs Kex are simple and designed for consistency. The company does not publish its recipes, but the ingredient lists on the packets show the core components.

• Biscuit shells: Crisp biscuits made from wheat flour, sugar and vegetable oil, with cocoa in the Ballerina dough.
• Hazelnut-chocolate cream: A smooth filling for the sandwich biscuit, combining sugar, vegetable fat, hazelnuts, cocoa and whey powder; it makes up about a third of a Ballerina.
• Fruit filling: A sweet berry filling used as the centre for the Singoalla variety, such as blueberry or raspberry.
• Milk: Present in small quantities, mainly as whey powder in the filling.

The result is crisp against soft, and consistent to the point of being a fixed reference: Swedes know exactly what the biscuit tastes like before they open the packet. The biscuits are often sold in tins or packets that keep the filling fresh and the shells crisp.

How to eat it

The intended way to enjoy Göteborgs Kex is during fika, the Swedish coffee break that happens multiple times a day in offices, homes and cafés. A tin of these biscuits is a common sight on the table alongside a pot of black coffee or tea. Some people dip them briefly into the hot drink to soften the shell slightly before eating.

They are not typically eaten as a standalone dessert after a meal but serve as a snack during the pause. In a café they arrive on a plate with the cinnamon and cardamom buns. The pairing with coffee is essential, as the sweetness of the biscuit balances the bitterness of the brew.

They are sold in every supermarket in the country, and many leave Gothenburg in visitors' luggage.

Curious facts

• Making biscuits since 1888. The company has traded under the same name since then, which makes it one of the long-standing Swedish food brands, even though the biscuits are now baked in Latvia.
• Ballerina leads the range. Launched in 1963, it is the brand's best-known biscuit and is billed as Sweden's best-selling one.
• Two distinct styles. While often grouped together, the crisp sandwich style of Ballerina and the softer jam-filled Singoalla offer different textures in the same tin.
• A city name. The biscuits take their name from Gothenburg rather than the old factory town of Kungälv.
• Fika staple. These biscuits are considered a standard part of the fika ritual, appearing on tables across the country regardless of the season.

Where to try it

Any Swedish supermarket, which is the honest answer: these are cupboard biscuits, not a speciality to be hunted down. Gothenburg sells them everywhere, and the old factory town of Kungälv is about twenty minutes north of the city.

The more interesting place to meet them is at an actual fika — in an office, a church hall or someone's kitchen — where a tin of Ballerina on the table is as standard as the coffee pot beside it.