Apetit’s market position
Apetit is the largest Finnish operator in Finland, its principal market area, and the leading developer of a unique vegetable-based value chain from field to table in its product groups.
As well as being healthy and tasting good, vegetable based eating is a sustainable choice. Long-term food trends highlight factors related to responsibility and individual well-being: healthiness, concern about climate change, domesticity, making everyday life easier, local food and transparency of the food chain. With cost inflation, the price of food has become increasingly important.
Apetit is the largest Finnish operator in Finland, its principal market area, and the significant developer of plant-based “from field to fork” value chain in its product groups. Apetit sells its products to retailers, the Food Service sector, food industry, animal feed industry and exports.
In Finland, grocery trade is highly concentrated. In the Food Service sector, sales are more evenly distributed, and products are sold both directly to restaurant chains and through various public sector procurement clusters and Food Service whole-salers. In exports, Apetit is developing its brand position especially in Sweden, where the frozen foods market is relatively larger than in Finland.
The most significant drivers of change in the operating environment for Apetit are associated with inflation and consumer purchasing power and crop variability related to climate change. When it comes to cultivation, the constantly developing legislation on chemicals and pesticides also has impacts on the cultivation of different plants and the securing of harvest levels. The global political situation creates uncertainty.
The value of the retail sales of food has continued to grow. Value of sales of groceries increased by 1.6 per cent in 2024 and the volume of food sales by 2.1 percent on average. Net sales of wholesale for Food service decreased by 1.1 per cent in January–December.*
Inflation, which weakened consumer purchasing power and directed consumption towards more affordable products, stopped with regard to food products in 2024. According to Statistics Finland (14 January 2025), the average annual change in the consumer price index for food in 2024 was 0.0 per cent year-on-year, which means that the price of food remained the same. However, the impacts of the strong inflation of previous years can still be seen in consumer purchasing behaviour. Price development has been different in different product groups. When buying food, consumers prefer more affordable
products and the price plays an increasingly important role in purchasing decisions.
The new national nutritional recommendations published in late 2024 provide direction for Finns’ diets. Following a varied diet with plenty of vegetables, adding legumes and plant proteins to the diet and increasing the use of vegetable oils, as recommended in the nutritional recommendations, support Apetit’s product portfolio. Consumers value products that help make meals easy, diverse and healthy.
*Source: The Finnish Grocery Trade Association
Frozen vegetables and frozen foods
Market share and competitive position
Apetit is the market leader in Finnish frozen vegetables and frozen ready meals. In frozen products, the competitive situation is expected to remain unchanged in Finland. Competition is mainly coming from big international players and private label products. In the international food trade, Apetit is fairly unknown, but has strengthened its position especially in the retail trade in Sweden.
Competitive advantages:
- Raw material sourcing model based on contract farming
- Strong market position and highly regarded brand
- Expertise in product development and production
- In-house cultivation development based on a sustainable food supply chain
- High degree of Finnish origin, Finnish production facilities in Finland
Vegetable oils
Market share and competitive position
Apetit is the market leader in vegetable oils in Finland, in the food industry and Food Service channels and a significant player in the grocery trade. Competition from abroad has increased somewhat especially in industrial sales.
Competitive advantages:
- Economies of scale in production and sourcing
- High production efficiency and delivery reliability, own energy solution
- High-quality products for a broad customer base
- Chemical-free and environmentally sustainable process
- Domesticity
- Strong market position and well-known brand
Raw materials for feeds
Market share and competitive position
Apetit has a considerable share in the sales of oilseed-based raw materials for feeds in Finland.
Competitive advantages:
- No salmonella, no chemichals
- Alternative for soy
