Throughout the years, we have claimed that Carlos Zoéga founded Zoégas in Helsingborg in 1886. That is true in itself, but only half the truth. Maria Zoéga, Carlos' wife, did not stand idly by by her husband. On the contrary, she was instrumental in the founding of Zoégas, and was also behind the company's expansion after Carlos' sudden death just two years after its inception. Despite this, Maria has often ended up in the shadow of Carlos. We want to change that now by giving Maria her rightful place as co-founder of Zoégas.

MAKING THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE

Unfortunately, it is all too common for women to be left behind by men in the history books. The examples are many and can often be blamed on how society has looked throughout history. But that doesn't take away from the fact that we at Zoégas should have looked at our own history better. So, therefore, let's start from the beginning.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER AND THE COFFEE MERCHANT

Maria Tufvesdotter Thunéll was born in 1860 in northern Skåne. She is a creative person who starts her entrepreneurial career by selling apples on the square in Ängelholm, and at the age of 24 she runs her own photo studio in Landskrona. Here Maria soon meets Carlos Zoéga and they fall in love with each other. Carlos was born in Sweden, but emigrated in 1871 to Brazil where he later began trading in coffee. In 1881, Carlos moved back to Sweden and started his own coffee shop in Landskrona with a focus on dark roast coffee.

DRIVEN BY PASSION

Maria and Carlos marry in 1885 and Maria changes her name to Zoéga. She shares Carlos' passion for dark roast coffee and they soon make the decision to move to Helsingborg to invest in coffee trading together. At this time, all married women are minors, but since Maria is an experienced entrepreneur, it is not a far-fetched thought that she will play a significant role in the upcoming establishment. On 30 November 1886, Zoégas was founded in Helsingborg.

GRIEF BLACK AS COFFEE

Two years after the start of Zoégas, Maria suffers several hard blows that will affect her future life and work. Maria is pregnant with the small family's second child when Carlos' mother passes away on April 16. Barely a day later, Carlos suddenly falls ill and dies the same day. Maria is left with a two-year-old daughter, her unborn child and a company that is still in its infancy. But it will get worse. A month after the son is born, he dies of sudden infant death syndrome. Darkness descends on Mary.

MARIA GETS UP AND TAKES COMMAND

It is in the most difficult moments of life that a person's true character is revealed. In all the horror, Maria stands up and rolls up her sleeves. She has a child to take care of and a business to take care of. Maria goes to work and walks tirelessly from café to café in Helsingborg to market and sell her and Carlos' life's dream – the good dark roasted coffee from Zoégas.

SUCCESS ATTRACTS ATTENTION

Business takes off and Maria's efforts and successes do not go unnoticed. Soon she begins to receive offers to sell Zoégas. Perhaps the speculators of the time saw an opportunity to easily seize a potential gold mine, which due to unfortunate circumstances had ended up in the hands of a single mother. Maria kindly but firmly declines all invitations. She is determined to succeed on her own.

THE NEW LIFE PARTNER

A few years pass, Zoégas is growing steadily and is now a prosperous business. It is at this time that Maria meets and marries the confectioner Johan Svensson. Johan takes her name and starts to get involved in the company. Together they have a son, Rudolf, who, after Maria's death in 1940, will take over Zoégas and run it well into the 60s. But that's another story. Now we are still in the early 1900s and Maria and Johan have big plans for Zoégas.

TWO CLASSIC COFFEE BLENDS

In 1903, Maria and Johan launched the coffee blend that would become one of Zoéga's absolute bestsellers, Mollbergs Blend. The blend is produced to order by the restaurateur at Hotel Mollberg in Helsingborg, a historic and beautiful hotel that is still in operation today. Fifteen years later, in 1918, Rudolf has joined the company and together they create Horns Blanda on behalf of the family behind Hotel Horn (now Savoy) in Malmö. Today, the coffee blend is better known as Skåneroast and is Zoéga's best-selling of all time.

SUSTAINABILITY OVER TIME

Today, Zoégas offers a plethora of flavorful coffee blends made from sustainably certified coffee, completely in the spirit of Maria. Because the perseverance and long-term perspective is something we have taken with us from her way of working. Female entrepreneurship also runs like a red thread through Zoéga's business. From Maria herself, to all the female coffee farmers we work with in our sustainability initiative Coffee By Women. Through training in sustainable cultivation and leadership, women can secure their livelihoods and strengthen their position in the local community, for the benefit of both themselves and their families.

A LIVING LIFE'S WORK

Maria Zoéga is one of many women in history whose life's work sheds light far into the future – but who are not recognized enough for their efforts. Therefore, we are now rewriting our history so that Maria can have her rightful place as the official co-founder of Zoégas in Helsingborg. Maria meant everything to Zoégas, and still does today. The best way we can honor her and her life's work is to pursue Zoégas with the same passion as her. We promise you that Maria.