Synnøve Finden (1882-1957) is today considered to be Norway's first female cheese founder and factory owner. Together with Pernille Holmen and her daughter Evy (13), Synnøve Finden opened her first cheese factory in 1928 on the Grefsen Plateau in Oslo. The breakthrough for the production came when the cheese was first introduced to the housewives' associations Hjemmenes Vel. In 1987, Synnøve Finden A / S was sold to Dag Swanstrøm and production moved to Enebakk. With Swanstrøm also came the breakthrough (1996) to be a challenger to the dairy monopoly Norwegian Dairies (Tine) and the cooperative. In January 1997, Minister of Agriculture Gunhild Øyangen from the Labour Party stated that the state and the Norwegian Farmers' Association had agreed to open up for competition in the dairy sector. In 1995, the new owner had gone to purchase the closed Tine dairy in Alvdal.
