Sætre pre-biscuit has been on Erling Nustad’s breakfast table, for dinner and with coffee since he was a child.
At the end of February, Erling went shopping with the aim of stocking up on his favorite cookie.
However, it was a big surprise when he discovered that Starter’s cookie shelf was empty.
– Then I was told it was out of production.
Cookie hunt
The pre-biscuit was not found in any Erling convenience store in Tretten north of Lillehammer. The next day, therefore, he took his wife up the valley on a cookie hunt.
– My husband and I went to 17 stores that day.
But the old favorite was not easy to raise.
– Starter cookies were simply empty everywhere, and the fact that store shelves are empty shows that demand is high.
One of the stops on the hunting route was Bunnpris Ringebul. Fortunately for Erling, three lucky packages were left on the shelf.
– The three starter packs of cookies that were in Ringebu are now in Tretten, he says slyly.
Erling says she doesn’t skimp on the cookies, but she sure enjoys them a little more now that she knows they might be the last ones she gets her hands on.
– I eat them devotedly and very selectively. It is not something we allow ourselves to do in the hope that it will last.
Gone for good
The biscuit has been on store shelves since 1928, approaching 100 years old.
For Erling, the kitchen counter is empty without the old trot.
– It is both good and applicable to both. It is very suitable for table cheese, among other things.
NOT THE SAME WITHOUT: Startkjeks from Pulto is Erling’s favorite. Photo: Erling Nustad/private
– I usually make something called boiled table cheese, adding some cream, butter and salt to make it a sort of spreadable cheese. And Startkjeks’s, it’s just phenomenally good.
In the video at the top of the case, you can see reporter Bernhard testing the cooked table cheese!
Erling wants to fight to get the biscuit back and has created a Facebook group “We who miss Startkjeks”. The group has more than 100 members.
In addition, Erling has contacted Orkla, which produces Sætre cookies. To the dismay of the 77-year-old, they confirmed that production of the cookie had been discontinued for good.
Orkla justifies this by the fact that they have had quality problems. Erling does not understand this, who believes that the biscuit is still the way it has always been.
– In 2022, making pre-cookies should be no more difficult than in 1928.
COOKIE BUTTER: Start packing cookies in the Sætre cookie factory in 1960. Photo: NTB
– Not high enough demand
Orkla’s communications manager Dag Olav Stokken explains to TV 2 help that they have had problems with the machine that produces Start, which has led to a lot of food waste.
– Since it is a unique product, it also has a unique production. We have our own machine that produces Startkisket. Since the machine is old, it has recently produced a lot of product that we cannot resell.
Therefore, it was between buying a new expensive machine or stopping production.
– Investing in a new machine simply does not add up to how much the product sells. We understand that we are disappointing some, but at the same time, we have not found a life that is ready to continue with Startkjeks.
Nor is there enough demand for traditional biscuits for Orkla.
– Startkeks is in many ways a completely unique product that has had a loyal audience for years, but at the same time we see that sales have been relatively low.
Stokken explains that biscuit fans are mostly made up of older customers.
– It is a product with a slightly older target group, to which younger buyers have been recruited to a small extent.
– Almost an insult
The communications manager points to another old trotter at the breakfast table who might be able to make up for the damage.
– I don’t know if this is poor consolation for Startkeks users, but try Kaptein-keks if it’s not already on the table. It’s selling so well that I can promise it still has life ahead of it.
This proposal does not go down well with Erling.
– For those who like Startkjeks, it’s almost insulting because captain cookies and Startkjeks have nothing in common other than being cookies, says Erling.
– Not a genius
Erling is disappointed that more cookies are not being collected.
– It was not Orkla’s genius. I understand that they have to sort their selection, but I was hoping they would take out other items besides this. There is no other cracker that I know of that has a mild cardamom flavor.
– We don’t ignore the fact that we get cookies similar in taste to the market, but I dare not promise anything, says Stokken.