A new business association, Plant Based Foods Finland (Pro Vege in Finnish), has been established to help increase the share of plant-based foods in the Finnish food system.
Among the association’s 18 founding members are the country’s three largest supermarket chains — Kesko, SOK, and Lidl Finland — said to account for 92% of the food retail market. Several restaurants and plant-based companies are also included; the full list is Food Farm, Kotipizza Group, Lipasu, MeEat Food Tech, Mö Foods, Nordic Umami Company, Oatly, Oy Soya Ab, Porlammi Dairy, Raisio, Tmi Jukka Kajan, Virna Food Radecon, Vöner, WWF Finland and Ylva Palvelut.
Ambitious plans, mission-aligned partners
Plant Based Foods Finland will work to make plant-based foods attractive to as many people as possible, with a particular focus on plant proteins and plant-based dairy alternatives. The association will also highlight the link between the current food system and environmental/health issues.
The members aim to involve the entire value chain in the growth and development of plant-based foods, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing, stating this will be essential in order to create meaningful value. When establishing the association, the companies received support from two other Nordic plant-based associations: Denmark’s Plantebranchen and Sweden’s Växtbaserad Sverige.
Plant-based associations worldwide
New plant-based associations are springing up worldwide to promote awareness of plant-based foods. These include Brazil’s Base Planta, India’s Plant Based Foods Industry Association, the US’ PBFA, Hungary’s NÉGYOSZ, and the UK’s Plant-Based Food Alliance.
These associations are campaigning for changes such as tax equality between animal and plant-based foods, rejection of labelling restrictions for plant-based products, and more meatless options in public spaces.
Niklas Kaskeala, Public Affairs Manager for Oatly in Finland, has been elected Chairman of Plant Based Food Finland. “The climate crisis and nature loss cannot be solved without changing the food system. For health reasons too, it is worth changing diets to be more plant-based,” said Kaskeala.
