Finnish Bakery’s Seed Crispbread Wins Over Japan and Expands Abroad

Finland is not widely known as a food-exporting country, and only a few Finnish food brands have achieved global recognition. Yet a bakery originating in Turku has found an unexpectedly promising product for international markets: seed crispbread.

Leipomo Rosten’s breakthrough came at the Foodex trade fair in Japan in 2023. Marketing and export director Veera Meltovaara had never visited Japan or attended a trade fair there. She said the bakery was surprised to find companies from around the world looking for new business after the pandemic.

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I had never been to Japan, let alone attended a trade fair there. We were surprised that the whole world was there.

The event changed the company’s view of its opportunities abroad. It brought Rosten its first partner in the United States, a market the bakery had not previously considered. Japan also became an export market through contacts made at the fair. “Japan is a very difficult export market. Many people are amazed that we have managed to get any business there,” Meltovaara said.

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Japan is a very difficult export market. Many people are amazed that we have managed to get any business there.

Exports outside Europe remain limited. Annual sales to both the United States and Japan total less than 10,000 euros per market. The bakery had revenue of 54 million euros last year, including 7 million euros from exports. Seed crispbread accounted for about 1 million euros of export sales, while the rest came from modified-atmosphere-packed rye and wheat bread.

Rosten now exports to 21 countries, including the Nordic countries, the Baltic states, Germany and Spain. European exports have grown this year, with sales in Poland and Hungary increasing by hundreds of thousands of euros, according to Meltovaara. The bakery wants to multiply seed crispbread exports fivefold within three years. International buyers are especially interested in grain-free and gluten-free products, fiber, protein and foods with a functional benefit. “Protein is a major trend, and seed crispbread fits that trend,” Meltovaara said.

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Protein is a major trend, and seed crispbread fits that trend.

Finland’s government program aims to double food exports by 2031. Marjukka Mattio of Ruokatieto called the target ambitious and said it would require annual growth of about 15 percent. She argued that Finland should export more highly processed, value-added products and said Finnish producers could also find room in higher-priced markets.

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We do not realize that when we eat Finnish food, we are eating high-quality products.