Kesko Oyj : The popularity of vegan products is growing in Finland – Pirkka range to have 16 new plant-based products

There will be a lot more plant-based products in the Pirkka range this year. The first products that were launched included the Pirkka Parhaat guacamole and mango dip in mid-January 2018.

The new 2017 Pirkka products that are suitable for a vegan diet:
• Pirkka dark baking chocolate 70 % 100 g UTZ
• Pirkka sweet potato fries 500 g, frozen food
• Pirkka milk-free lingonberry-blueberry ice cream 0.5 l, frozen food
• Pirkka fava bean balls approx.13 balls/200 g
• Pirkka fava bean roll 180 g
• Pirkka gluten-free oat bread dough 450 g, frozen food
• Pirkka Leppis salmiakki-strawberry popsicle 83 g, frozen food
• Pirkka Koppis cola-pear popsicle 83 g, frozen food
• Pirkka Luomu whipped rye porridge 250 g
• Pirkka fava bean patties 5 ea./200 g
• Pirkka chickpea-kale patties 4 ea./240 g, frozen food
• Pirkka carrot-quinoa patties 4 ea./240 g, frozen food
• Pirkka pizza crusts with tomato sauce 4 ea./460 g, frozen food
• Pirkka crumb cake ingredients apple-cinnamon 700 g, frozen food
• Pirkka crumb cake ingredients garden berries 700 g, frozen food
• Pirkka crumb cake ingredients rhubarb-strawberry 700 g, frozen food

The trends included oat, snacks and indulging
The Food Trends 2017 report published by the K-Group concluded that approximately 13 per cent of Finns were interested in flexible vegetarianism. This was evident in Finnish shopping baskets in 2017: the sales of vegetable proteins increased 159 per cent over the previous year. According to the study, the most active supporters of flexible vegetarianism live in Western Finland.

Vegetarian food trends parallel the more general food trends. One of the most popular plant-based Pirkka products in K-food stores in 2017 was the Pirkka oat drink, which experienced rapid sales growth after its launch late in 2016. The share of plant-based drinks in the milk product group has reached already nearly ten per cent in K-food stores.

Easy access to vegetarian food
Ease of access, snacks and eating on the go are also evident in vegetarian dining. According to the purchasing experts in the K-Group, we will see more product launches in 2018 that will highlight responsibility, health, freshness and natural ingredients, in addition to offering ease of access. Oat is an appealing ingredient to customers also in snacks.

The Pirkka product introduced last year, sweet potato fries has already started to earn recognition. At the end of last year, the product won the K-Food Awards - Pirkka Product of the Year category by popular vote. In January 2018, the Pirkka sweet potato fries were chosen as the winner of the Makes Daily Life Easier category by popular vote in the Kultainen Pippuri competition held by Iltalehti.

There will be an addition to the sweet potato product family. Customers have asked for a gluten-free variation of the product, so the Pirkka range will be supplemented with gluten-free sweet potato wedges.

'We decided to fulfil the wishes of our customers and we are now proud to announce that we will be launching gluten-free sweet potato wedges to be offered alongside the sweet potato fries. They will be available in K-stores during February,' reveals Tiina-Liisa Nirhola, Purchasing and Sales Manager of Bread and Frozen Foods, K-Group Grocery Trade.

Plant-based indulgence
Being plant-based no longer automatically means being healthy and light. Instead, treats have increasingly been also included among plant-based products. Milk-free ice creams, for example, have frequently found their way into customers' shopping baskets and a fourth flavour was added to the product range last spring, Pirkka milk-free lingonberry-blueberry ice cream. Another new flavour, chocolate, will be introduced to the range this spring.

See a list of the plant-based products in the Pirkka range (in Finnish)