Best Managed Companies 2026: How LAKRIDS BY BÜLOW keeps challenging convention

A strategy built on challenging conventions 

Building an international luxury brand around liquorice has never been the obvious choice. 

LAKRIDS BY BÜLOW operates in a category where many competitors have existed for more than a century and where consumers often return to products they already know. From the beginning, the ambition was therefore not only to create a different product, but also to turn sceptics into LAKRIDS LOVERS, one bite at a time, and reveal just how extraordinary liquorice can be. 

A defining moment came in 2009, when the company combined liquorice with chocolate.

The same approach can be seen beyond the product itself. LAKRIDS BY BÜLOW has built a go-to-market model that combines digital channels, its own retail stores, and a broad network of retail partners. At the same time, the company places significant emphasis on design, packaging, and creating a visually recognisable brand rooted in Nordic simplicity and functionality.

Building a business around dialogue

When recognising LAKRIDS BY BÜLOW as a Best Managed Company, the jury highlighted the company's innovative community model as what truly sets it apart.

“LAKRIDS BY BÜLOW has strengthened its core focus with discipline and vision. With a solid foundation and a commitment to its core product, the company has built a well-managed organisation. But what truly sets them apart is their innovative community model – a remarkable approach that creates both differentiation and authentic conversations with our customers.”

Customer dialogue is a deliberate part of the company’s strategy: “We try to view ourselves as a dialogue brand,” Fredrik says. “Some brands speak through a megaphone, but we would rather start a conversation.“ 

The most visible expression of this is LAKRIDS LOVERS, a community of approximately 300,000 members. Rather than functioning as a traditional loyalty programme, members receive products that cannot be purchased and are invited to give detailed feedback on flavour, texture, colour, and saltiness through a QR code. Their feedback is then used in the development of new products. “When you later see a product showing up in stores, and you told us what you thought about the crunch and the saltiness, you’ve helped put it there. We really see LAKIRDS LOVERS as so much more than a loyalty club; it's a community that helps shape what comes next,” says Fredrik.

For inspiration, the company looks well beyond its own category. Fredrik points to Rapha's biking community, Patagonia's approach to sustainability, and Fever-Tree's reinvention of a category no one knew needed reinventing. “We believe we can learn more from that than from classic competitor benchmarking. We’re much more interested in what’s possible than what’s typical,” he says.

A broader perspective through Best Managed Companies

LAKRIDS BY BÜLOW entered the Best Managed Companies programme shortly after completing a change of ownership. The timing felt right: “Any other moment would have been too early,” says Fredrik.

Going into the process, he expected the assessment to focus primarily on financial performance. But instead, the programme turned out to be broader and more rigorous than anticipated:

The company also chose to involve most of the leadership team throughout the process. “It wasn't just me representing the company. It was the people leading the different parts of the business, each able to provide concrete examples,” says Fredrik. 

Structuring thinking and confirming priorities

One of the main benefits of the programme was the opportunity to step back from day-to-day operations. “It’s always very healthy to be approached by someone who’s able to ask the right questions. Running a business leaves very little time to step back, and sometimes the best questions are the ones that make you stop and think differently. It helps you to structure your thinking and, if you’ve structured your thinking, you’re able to prioritise,” says Fredrik. 

Although the ownership change had naturally prompted the company to reassess many aspects of the business, the Best Managed Companies assessment brought additional perspectives and angles that had not necessarily been considered.

Two discussions stood out in particular: leverage and the company’s technology infrastructure. While the conversations around leverage, and whether the company was investing ambitiously enough, introduced a more bullish perspective than Fredrik had expected, the assessment also validated the company’s ongoing investment in its technology platform and helped fast-track existing initiatives.

Recognition beyond the award

Receiving the Best Managed Companies recognition generated more attention than Fredrik had expected: “I was proud, but we got more attention than I had expected – from all directions.” 

Internally, the award also became an opportunity to explain the Best Managed Companies programme and what the recognition represented. That external validation also carried weight internationally. With Germany as the company's largest market and the UK close behind, the Deloitte brand lands differently outside Denmark.

His advice to any CEO considering the programme is equally direct: Do it. Bring your team. Come prepared. The more honest the conversations, the more you will get from them. “Try to ensure there's a common thread running through – don't split the chapters. They all support each other.” 

When asked whether LAKRIDS BY BÜLOW would participate again, Fredrik did not hesitate: “For sure. Absolutely.”