Brands & Makers.
The firms behind the wrappers
A handful of companies make most of the branded sweets on a Dutch supermarket shelf. Several of the best-known names are old: Klene dates from 1876, Venco from 1878, Red Band from 1928 and Droste from 1863. Most are no longer independent family firms. Venco and Red Band belong to the Swedish group Cloetta, Klene to Perfetti Van Melle, and Droste to the Polish confectioner Wawel.
The entries below cover four of these houses, with dates checked against company histories and public reference sources. A fifth entry lists the other names a visitor is likely to meet, from Katja and Autodrop to KING peppermints and Haagsche Hopjes.
Venco
est. 1878, Amsterdam
Started by Gerrit van Voornveld in the Spuistraat, named Venco in 1904, merged with Red Band, and a Cloetta brand since 2012. Best known for Schoolkrijt.
6 min read→ № 02Klene
est. 1876, Rotterdam
Founded by Johannes Coenradus Klene, family-run for most of a century, part of Van Melle since 1999 and so of Perfetti Van Melle.
5 min read→ № 03Red Band
est. 1928, Roosendaal
A drop and sugar-confectionery factory in a former match factory, later home to Venco production; known abroad for wine gums. Now Cloetta.
5 min read→ № 04Droste
est. 1863, Haarlem
The cocoa and pastille maker whose nurse-and-tin packaging named the Droste effect. Vaassen factory closed in 2024; the brand now belongs to Wawel.
6 min read→ № 05Dutch candy brands
snoepmerken
An overview of the brands on the Dutch sweet shelf and the companies that own them: licorice, peppermint, chocolate and biscuits.
7 min read→