Smart Supply Chain
BRINGING FINLAND TO THE WORLD - LONGING FOR DOMESTIC TASTES Tastes from home bring strong memories throughout the world. Now rye bread, salmiakki and chocolate are just a few clicks away regardless of distance.
T
he longing for the unique taste of Finnish food culture is almost invariably familiar for Finnish expats living abroad. Light-roasted coffee, rye bread, salmiakki and, of course, Fazer’s blue are classic flavours in Finnish mouths that are hard to imitate elsewhere. Domestic flavors surface emotional memories and nostalgic moments when abroad. Bringing treats from your home country is also a source of pride and a cultural act when served to the international community. As long as these flavors are available, that is. Many Finns living abroad identify the situation where relatives have been given the role of the food supplier from home. Suomikauppa. fi started a similar service based on these premises. The founder of our online store was on a posting abroad and eventually got tired of asking his relatives in his longing for chocolate and salmiakki. A coder was found in the close circle, with whom they struck together and set up an online store selling Finnish products for export purposes in 16
2005. Ville Aittola, the CEO of the company that currently manages the suomikauppa.fi online store, opens the history of special sales to Finns abroad.
The classics hold their leading position Over the years, the world has changed and e-commerce has developed, but Finns’ longing for domestic products has remained. The starting points for our operations are still the same as in 2005. By choosing domestic quality, purity, healthiness and exceptional product safety, we have increased and developed our operations by doing everything right from the beginning in the Finnish way, Aittola describes the basic pillars of sustainable operation.
BUSINESS CLASS | HELSINKI-VANTAA EDITION | SUMMER 2022
The favorites are still the same as in 2005, but the selection is constantly expanding in a customer-oriented manner. Rye bread, sweets and Finnish light roasted coffee are still the most demanded, but practically today our selection includes almost anything from domestic food to cosmetics and interior decoration products. If you can’t find something in the selection, we try to supplement it according to demand, Aittola promises.
Freshly delivered to the other side of the globe Suomikauppa.fi delivers domestic products to 130 countries quickly and cheaply given its geographical location. Shipments to the east coast of the United States are delivered at best in a day, to the west coast in a couple, and to New Zealand in less than a week. You can actually get your bread fresh on the table, Aittola smiles. The jungle drum has spoken and the demand for Finnish products abroad has also increased among schools and companies. We will meet this particular demand by opening a wholesale store for companies and different expat communities during the summer, Aittola reveals about the future development steps. In addition to dry products, consumers can order domestic sausages and cheeses within Europe from finnishfreshfood.fi/en.
