Family businesses in Šiauliai, northern Lithuania, have been handed down from one generation to the next. Some are still in operation today, including the country’s famous chocolate brand, Rūta.
“Antanas is my great-grandfather, who started everything from scratch back in the times of the Russian tsar – in 1913 with his wife,” says Rimantas Gluodas, head of production at Rūta.
“He had a remarkable ability both for his taste buds and his golden hands. He managed to develop the company before the Second World War when it became one of the largest producers of sweets in Lithuania,” he added.
The founder of the factory and the business, Antanas Gricevičius, was one of five children in his family. He came to Vilnius from Šiauliai and started working as an apprentice in the Bunimovičius' candy factory Viktorija.
He soon became a master craftsman and was awarded two watches. While working in Vilnius, he fell in love with and married a factory worker, Juzefa Petkevičiūtė, and they decided to build a future together in Šiauliai.
According to Meilė Šimaitė, Head of Education at the Chocolate Museum, the factory is a family business started by Antanas Gricevičius and his wife.
“At first, they bought a small building, a caramel maker and started to make sweets,” says Šimaitė.
“It took a lot of courage and stubbornness. He even named the company Rūta to distinguish its Lithuanianness,” says Šimaitė. “There were difficulties – the Jewish community was very well organised and they decided not to sell sugar to Gricevičius. And what is candy without sugar? That's why it had to be shipped from Cuba.”
However, the owner of the company tried to outcompete other businesses by analysing other chocolates.
“He was very fond of creating recipes himself,” says Šimaitė. “As Gricevičius' descendants tell us, if a new candy became available in the market, he liked to analyse it – what it was made of, how it was made. He received many awards, including gold medals in England and Italy.”
Gricevičius was a Lithuanian patriot, according to Šimaitė. When the country celebrated the 20th anniversary of its independence in 1936, he issued special chocolates and also wrapped sweets with the images of Lithuanian national figures.
The Soviet occupation eventually scattered the family. As private property was liquidated, the nationalised factory remained in operation.
After Lithuania regained its independence in 1990, the family was able to reclaim the factory and it continues producing chocolates to this day.
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