Food industry is the fourth largest industry in Finland and the largest manufacturer of consumer goods.The whole food chain employs over 300,000 persons, which represents 12% of the employed labour force. Those working directly in the food industry comprise a share of 34,000 people.
The largest branches of the food industry are meat processing, dairy products and beverage industry. Other vivid fields are bread and cookies, fruits and vegetables, chocolate, sweets and cocoa as well as feeds.
Quality and safety are at the core of all operations in the Finnish food industry. According to the Finnish Food and Drink Industries´ Federation 2009 Report, the Finnish food industry prides itself in achieving high standards in the following areas: customer and consumer orientation, healthy and functional products, responsibility, high technology, professionally skilled employees, self-monitoring and quality systems, control over the whole production chain and prevention of risks and traceability.
In Finland, there can be seen a significant change towards more ethical consuming habits when it comes to food supplies. The share of fairtrade products is growing. Coffee, bananas and other fruit remain the top products in this sector. The demand for organic food is growing drastically and there is a lack of organically produced meat. This provides great opportunities for companies specializing in organic food.
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