Ultra Violet by Haupt Lakrits is bold Swedish black licorice coated in white chocolate. It sounds like an unlikely combination. White chocolate is entirely sweet, with no cocoa solids and no bitterness. Swedish black licorice made with salmiak is sharp, savory, and mineral. The contrast between the two is sharp enough that most people do not expect it to work. It does, and it has won international candy awards to prove it.
What Is Ultra Violet?
Ultra Violet is a Haupt Lakrits product made from real Swedish black licorice, produced with Glycyrrhiza glabra root extract and ammonium chloride (salmiak), coated in premium white chocolate. The licorice center is firm and chewy with a pronounced salmiak character. The white chocolate shell is smooth and sweet.
The name refers to the visual effect of the piece: a deep, dark licorice interior against a pale, almost luminescent white coating. Slice one in half and the contrast is striking. Eat one and the flavor contrast is equally so.
Ultra Violet is part of the Haupt Lakrits chocolate coated licorice collection. It is one of the products most often cited by international candy media and food writers as evidence that Swedish confectionery operates at a different level from the mainstream.
Why White Chocolate and Licorice?
Dark chocolate and licorice is an intuitive pairing: both are bitter, both are complex, and they reinforce each other's deeper notes. White chocolate does the opposite. It brings nothing to the licorice except sweetness and fat, which means the licorice has to carry the combination entirely on its own character.
This is exactly the point. When the licorice is real, meaning made from licorice root with salmiak rather than artificial flavoring, it is bold enough to make the contrast interesting rather than confusing. The sharpness of the salmiak reads as more intense against the sweetness of white chocolate than it does against dark or milk chocolate. The herbal, slightly bitter character of the licorice root has more space to come forward because the chocolate is not competing with it.
The result is a piece of candy in which the two components do not blend. They stay separate in the mouth, each amplifying the other through contrast rather than harmony. This is harder to achieve than it sounds. It requires licorice with enough character to hold its own, and chocolate of sufficient quality to not taste flat or artificial.
The Award-Winning Story
Ultra Violet has been recognized at international confectionery competitions, drawing attention in categories typically dominated by Belgian and Swiss chocolatiers. For a Swedish licorice brand based in Stockholm, this recognition reflects both the quality of the product and the growing international interest in Scandinavian candy culture.
The recognition also reflects a shift in how food media and food judges evaluate candy. The evaluation criteria used in high-end confectionery competitions increasingly reward novelty, contrast, and technical execution over sweetness alone. Ultra Violet scores on all three: the combination is genuinely novel outside Scandinavia, the contrast is sharp and deliberate, and the execution, the quality of the white chocolate and the consistency of the licorice center, is at the level required to compete.
How Ultra Violet Compares to the Rest of the Range
Within the Haupt Lakrits chocolate range, Ultra Violet sits at the far end of the contrast spectrum. Most other pieces in the range use dark or milk chocolate, which has its own bitterness and creates a more harmonious pairing with the licorice. Ultra Violet uses the opposite approach: maximum contrast, minimum harmony.
For comparison:
- Chilla Gunilla uses milk and dark chocolate for a more balanced, approachable result.
- Nice Mint adds peppermint to dark and milk chocolate for a three-part combination.
- Chokade Svenskjavlar uses dark chocolate with the world's saltiest licorice for maximum intensity without contrast.
- Ultra Violet uses white chocolate with bold salmiak licorice for maximum intensity through contrast.
If you want to understand what chocolate-covered Swedish licorice can do at its most unusual, Ultra Violet is the right starting point. If you want something more approachable, Chilla Gunilla is the gentler entry into the range.
Who Ultra Violet Is For
Ultra Violet works best for people who:
- Already enjoy Swedish black licorice and want to try it in its most distinctive form
- Are interested in unusual flavor combinations and trust contrast over safety
- Want to give a gift that will prompt a reaction and start a conversation
- Are experienced chocolate buyers looking for something from outside the usual producing countries
It is not the best starting point for someone new to Swedish licorice. The salmiak is forward and the sweetness of the white chocolate does not soften it. For a first introduction to Haupt Lakrits, the best sellers collection is a better starting point. Come back to Ultra Violet once you understand what salmiak tastes like and why it matters.
Where to Buy Ultra Violet
Ultra Violet is available directly from Haupt Lakrits and ships across the USA. Order Ultra Violet here.
For the full context on chocolate-covered Swedish licorice, including how each chocolate type pairs with black licorice and a guide to choosing between products, see Chocolate Covered Licorice: The Complete Guide.