Known as 'the trip chocolate', Kvikk Lunsj has fuelled outdoor adventures for generations. So, what makes this chocolate so controversial?

It's started to drizzle across the marsh, but we're prepared – as we Norwegians say, "there's no bad weather, only bad clothing". We've just happened upon a patch of cloudberries, an elusive Arctic delicacy that thrives in wet bogs, noting their location so we can come back to pick them when they've ripened to orange. And as we huddle under the soft needles of a spruce tree, my friend digs into her pocket and pulls out something no Norwegian would ever leave behind on a trip into nature: a Kvikk Lunsj.

Kvikk Lunsj is a four-fingered chocolate bar that's beloved across Norway and synonymous with outdoor exploration. The snack's slogan is "tursjokoladen" ("the trip chocolate"), and ads for the wafers often depict hikers spinning a compass, skiers summiting frosty peaks and people drinking water from rushing rivers. Today, roughly 60 million Kvikk Lunsj bars are produced each year – about 11 for every Norwegian – and whether you're skipping across mountain brooks or striking out in a kayak, no journey into the Norwegian wilderness is complete without one. That's because Kvikk Lunsj isn't just a sweet treat; it's part of our national heritage.

Kvikk Lunsj was invented in 1937, but according to its creator Johan Throne Holst, the story actually starts 45 years earlier with a failed hike. Throne Holst, then a young businessman, wanted to show Norway's stunning landscapes to his German business associate, but they lost their way in the woods outside Oslo. As the pair trudged on, directionless and increasingly hungry, the German complained that their journey would have been salvaged had they packed some chocolate.

Perhaps inspired by his colleague's remarks, two years later Throne Holst bought Freia, a tiny chocolate factory in Oslo, and during the next several decades, grew it into one of Norway's biggest brands. In the midst of Freia's rise, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen became the first person to reach the South Pole in 1911, and after revealing that he had packed chocolate to help fuel his journey, many Norwegians began seeking out chocolate to fuel their outdoor pursuits too. Throne Holst saw an opportunity.

Recalling his German colleague's words in the woods, Throne Holst set out to create the perfect crunchy, chocolatey companion for an outdoor excursion – the kind that both the German and Amundsen would have approved of. But when Kvikk Lunsj first launched, it was a flop.

"The first version was made with dark chocolate, which was not a hit," says Sandra Garcia Gabrielsen, Kvikk Lunsj brand manager at Mondelēz Europe Services, which now owns Freia. "It was changed to milk chocolate [almost immediately], which was more appealing".

Ever since, the Kvikk Lunsj experience has started with tearing open a red, green and yellow packet to reveal four brown fingers embossed with tiny storks. You then break off a finger of the milk chocolate-coated wafer with a satisfying snap and bite into the surprisingly light and airy snack, which tastes creamier and less sharply sweet than other international brands – almost like a little meal.

In the 88 years since its launch, these energy-packed "quick lunches" have been marketed in much the same way as trail mix or energy bars might be in other nations. "There's no better livener on your trip than a bar or two," early ads declared, noting that calorie-wise, each pack contained "the........

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