Once upon a time there was a Norwegian colonial merchant's son named Johan Throne Holst. At the end of the 19th century, he bought the then worn-out chocolate factory for SEK 9,000 and turned it into a modern workplace, which soon became the country's leading chocolate manufacturer, and the chocolate brand Freia was born. In the 1920's Freia owned 50% of the Norwegian market. During the First World War, the continental European markets were closed, so the company decided to expand to Sweden and in 1916 the subsidiary Marabou was established. The name Marabou comes from the marabou stork on the packaging. The actual production, however,  didn't start until 1919 due to shortages in cocoa supply caused by World War I. When production finally could start, however, it really srated to kick off and the Marabou factory in Sundbyberg outside of Stockholm was a big success. A new era was born in Sweden, the Marabou era, and today Marabou is one of Sweden's most beloved brands, with chocolate that makes us say "Mmm".

Throne Holst's second son, Henning, took over the factory in 1918. He was in charge of creating some of the brands which are still present today: Japp, Daim, Twist, Fortuna and Non Stop. The first Marabou chocolate to be established was milk chocolate (Mjölkchoklad), which was produced using the same recipe as Freia. From the mid-1950s on, Marabou chocolate was caramelized, which significantly changed its taste. This is when it got its unique new taste that still remains the same and it's the Swedes' favourite chocolate to this day. Many of today's favourites that are still on the shelves have actually been around longer than you might think, some as early as the early 1900s. 
At the end of the 1960s, the symbol of Marabou was changed from a stork to the rounded “M” in the company logo. It was designed by Sigvard Bernadotte who was a Prince of Sweden from birth, but was excluded from the line of succession in 1934 when he married a woman of unequal rank.

Today Marabou has a Royal warrant of appointment from the King of Sweden.

Two of Marabou's very first really popular chocolate bars were called Topsy and Siljan and were added to the range in 1924 and 1928. Chocolate was a luxury item for a long time, but thanks to the assembly line's entry into the chocolate factory, prices could be reduced to a popular level in the late 1930s. Swiss nut (Schweizernöt) quickly became one of Marabou's most popular chocolate bars and has been in the range since 1926. The actual reason why the cake is named as it is, however, no one seems to know. 
Marabou's journey has also brought with it a number of memorable poster names and slogans such as ”Ett halvt glas mjölk i varje kaka” ("Half a glass of milk in each cake") from the 40's, "Mmm - Marabou!" from the 50's milk chocolate boom, ”En gång Marabou, alltid Marabou” ("Once Marabou, always Marabou") from the 60's and ”Smaken man aldrig glömmer” ("The taste you never forget") from the 80's, ”Lite mera Mmm... i livet” ("A little more Mmm ... in life") and ”Sprid lite Mmm...” ("Spread a little Mmm ...") in the 2000s that still spreads joy and generosity.