A chequered red icon

The iconic Karoline Cow is one of the Danish dairies' most famous trademarks. It actually came into being somewhat by coincidence in 1958 - created from the artist Grethe Rich's chequered red kitchen curtains and named by the then Danish Prime Minister H.C. Hansen. 

Originally, the Karoline cow stood well hidden in the background of a draft advertising poster. In the foreground was a smiling milkmaid, intended to charm Danish consumers into buying more butter.

The poster was part of a large national campaign aimed at promoting the sale of butter on the Danish market. It was launched by the Dairy Office ( the name of the Danish Dairy Board at that time) after Great Britain in 1957 reduced its butter imports from Denmark.

It was the artist Grethe Rich from Aarhus who drew the first sketches in December 1957. She presented three sketches that were turned into posters. When the managing director of the Dairy Office saw the poster with the milkman and the cow in the background, he fell in love with the chequered red cow.

A cow made from kitchen curtains

Afterwards, Grethe Rich produced a separate poster with Karoline and a small fabric cow. The latter was made from the artist's chequered kitchen curtains, and it was the start of Karoline’s career as the symbol of the entire dairy industry.

The Karoline cow, as we know it today, was completed on the 28th of May in 1958. A full-sized model of the cow was produced and displayed at an event in Tivoli in Copenhagen. During the event, which was shown on television, Prime Minister H.C. Hansen pulled the cow up on stage, saying: "Come on then, Karoline". Thus, the cow got its name. Over the following decades, it was continually used in the marketing of the Danish dairy industry.

Karoline became a well-known brand, printed on export goods, brochures, calendars, cookbooks and on small cardboard collectables.

The simple, happy cow still holds a great appeal to Danes. The Danish Dairy Board owns the rights to the Karoline and still receives requests from people who want to use the cow, but use of its image is reserved for members of the association.

Purchase the cow

You can purchase a model of the iconic cow in wood as well as posters and postcards from the Danish Dairy Board webshop »»