Daim

Daim is a Swedish candy bar made of crunchy almond caramel covered in milk chocolate. Created in Sweden in the 1950s as an adaptation of an American bar, it remains one of the best-known sweets in Scandinavia.

History

The bar came out of the Swedish company Marabou in the early 1950s. Its vice president, Lars Anderfelt, wanted to make a version of the American Heath bar and asked for a licence, which was refused. Heath did, however, share its list of ingredients, and Marabou developed its own recipe from there, perfecting the crunchy centre and adding its signature milk chocolate.

The product was tested in Stockholm in 1952 with great success and launched the following year in Sweden and Norway under the name Dajm, a phonetic take on the American "dime". It later reached Finland and Denmark. In 1990 it was renamed Daim in most markets, although in the United Kingdom and Ireland it kept the name Dime until 2005. The brand passed to Kraft Foods and later to Mondelez International. Today it is made in Upplands Väsby and exported to many countries.

Culture

In Sweden, Daim is closely tied to everyday treats and afternoon snacking, and it is a familiar fixture in sweet shops. Its contrast of crunchy almond caramel under a layer of chocolate has inspired many variants, including a cappuccino limited edition, forest fruit, cola, white and dark chocolate, lemon-orange and mint. In the United States, Hershey makes a similar bar called Skor. In the United Kingdom, a 1995 television advert starring the comedian Harry Enfield, in which a salesman describes the bar with deadpan irony, did much to make it popular.

Trivia