HKScan continues its strategy-based growth into a versatile food company by investing in the manufacturing of snacks and meals in Finland. The investments of some EUR 5.4 million will be made in HKScan’s Vantaa and Eura units. With the investments, HKScan is responding to the continued strong growth in demand for snack products and fresh meals with a more diverse product range.
HKScan Corporation, Media Release, 13 July 2021
In autumn 2021, a modern restaurant-level kitchen will be completed at HKScan’s Vantaa unit, where fresh meals will be produced from the best raw materials. Premium meals will have high nutritional quality and genuine flavours. The new fresh meals will be available at shop service counters and as packaged products this autumn.
In addition, HKScan invests in new manufacturing technology that will be completed at the Eura production unit in summer 2022. Snack products will be made on the new lines for HK®, Kariniemen® and Boltsi® brands.
“We are strengthening our market position in growing product categories and will take our well-known brands to consumers’ new food moments with our new products. These are also products for which profitability is well above average. The investments now decided are in line with our customer-driven strategy to grow profitably in consumers’ food moments,” says HKScan’s CEO Tero Hemmilä.
Eating habits in transition
The ready meals market is growing by over ten per cent a year, and consumers expect freshness, quality and interesting flavours. At the same time, Finns' eating patterns have changed. Instead of two hot meals, the majority of Finns now have only one hot meal a day. Replacing main meals with snacks has boosted the snack category by more than five per cent annually. Snacks are currently one of the fastest growing product categories in the retail sector.*
“We use local, responsible raw materials to make products that are part of those consumers’ food moments that are strongly growing. The demand for delicious ready meals and snacks that make everyday life easier and have high nutritional quality has increased even more during the Covid-19 pandemic," says Jari Leija, HKScan's EVP Market Area Finland.
* Source: Nielsen retail 2020
HKScan Corporation
Heidi Hirvonen
SVP Communications
tel. +358 10 570 6072
More information:
Jari Leija, HKScan's EVP Market Area Finland, tel. +358 40 559 7213 and
HKScan Media Service Desk, tel. +358 10 570 5700 or by email: communications@hkscan.com