Our Most Historic Snus Brands

Snus doesn’t just provide a nicotine and flavor experience — it’s a little piece of history. Many snus enthusiasts know that the formulation is part of the Swedish national identity, having made its way into popular culture and social occasions. But they may be unaware of the rich legacies of snus brands that are still on the market today.

Stay in the dark no more — we’ve highlighted the most historic snus brands we sell on Snus Direct.

Most Historic Snus Brands

Some of the brands below are bestsellers, while others are niche names known only by the most dedicated snus aficionados. But they all contributed to making snus what it is today.

General Snus

General Snus is among the best-known brands on the market, beloved by many for its classic tobacco taste.

This revered flavor is the result of one man’s high standards. General’s creator, Johan A Boman, was an entrepreneur with a reputation for seeking the best. After being unable to find a snus that satisfied him, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Boman set off across the world to experiment with different tobacco leaves and combinations, hoping to find the perfect taste profile. After years of experimentation, he developed his cutting-edge recipe, which blended 22 tobacco leaves plus a drop of bergamot oil.

The product became initially popular in Boman’s town of Gothenburg, and the company then introduced the General brand to the wider public in 1866.

General uses this same recipe today, which can be found in General Classic Loose.

A bonus fun fact — Boman originally launched a partnership with a tobacco producer, and their company was named Körner & Boman (after the two men). But Körner died shortly before General went public, so Boman renamed their firm Boman & Co and reaped most of the rewards!

Ettan

General Snus may be a bigger name than Ettan in snus today, but the latter has a history that dates further back. Which checks out considering the name “Ettan” actually means “the first” in Swedish!

Before Ettan came around, snus was made from fermented tobacco. There was one key issue with this — the fermentation process took around six months. Ettan changed the game by finding a way to use fresh tobacco instead, which reduced the production time to just one week.

Manufacturer Jacob Fredrik Ljunglöf (and chemist Jacob Berzelius) pioneered a method using salt, water, potash, and a tobacco formulation to make snus faster than ever before. This became Ljunglöf's No. 1, and by the 1820s, Ettan was producing it on a large scale.

Ettan Loose closely resembles the original product, one of Sweden’s oldest food products!

Göteborgs Rapé

The idea behind snus didn’t just appear out of thin air. Its origination dates back to trade and world exploration, with the first inspiration for snus coming from Columbus’ journey to the Americas.

Göteborgs Rapé has a similar origin story. Unlike many other snus brands, the credit for its recipe doesn’t belong to a single “innovative founder” figure. Instead, it’s the result of various sailors from the port of Gothenburg experimenting with different flavors to make a viable alternative to expensive tobacco.

One particular blend was a success — hand-ripped tobacco, juniper berries, and fresh herbs. This snus was first created around the 1850s, although production on an industrial scale only started in 1919.

While Swedish Match now manufactures Goteborgs Rapé, the brand stays true to its history. The original recipe has not been tampered with and can still be discovered through Göteborgs Rapé Loose (although alternatives are also available).

Grovsnus

The history of Grovsnus is a tale with three major turning points.

First, there was a man from humble beginnings with big dreams named Willhelm Hellgren. While working as an office clerk at a tobacco factory, Hellgren was scheming about building a factory of his own. He achieved this goal, and it went on to become the Hellgren & Co tobacco company.

However, his partner Johan Bäckström truly propelled the company to success, with Hellgren leaving in 1851. The Grovsnus brand became popular thanks to its coarsely ground tobacco leaves, which were a favorite among Swedish workers and farmers because they could withstand hard labor.

The third chapter came when Swedish Match purchased the rights to the Grovsnus brand in the 1980s.

Lundgrens

The Lundgrens brand is made by Fiedler and Lundgren, a manufacturer with a rich and somewhat complex history.

Back in 1783, Samuel Fiedler started producing snus under the Fiedler company. Separately, in 1835, Johan A. Lundgren created a tobacco business.

Later, the two companies merged to make the highly successful Fiedler and Lundgren company. To muddy the waters further, there may have been a third figure involved! Jesper Unz was a close collaborator of Samuel Fiedler and was originally supposed to meet Gothenburg officials with him for permission to make snus, but he ended up oversleeping.

The Lundgrens brand is based on the novel recipes and production methods of Johan A Lundgren, and became known for its use of high-quality tobacco to create a distinct aroma.

Lundgrens is now owned by British American Tobacco.

Tre Ankare

Tre Ankare was launched in 1977, so it may have a shorter history on paper than many of the other brands on this list. But it arguably has one of the most important legacies, because it was the first brand to make snus widely available in pouch format.

This paved the way for nicotine pouches, which are now the most popular option for oral nicotine consumption.

Once upon a time, loose snus was the only option available on the market, despite its inconvenience and messiness. Tre Ankare changed the game by introducing pre-packed pouches containing snus, which users could handle more easily.

It’s safe to say they were a huge hit, with portion snus now being the mainstream choice!