Finland: Whole Food Stores in the Bigger Cities

The pioneer in the organic trade in Finland is the whole food shop Ruohonjuuri (grass roots) founded by a group of environmentally aware consumers in 1982. Today the cooperative, with about 200 participating private individuals and organisations, runs two branches and produces an annual turnover of two million Euros. The original shop in Helsinki has a floor space of 150 m² in one of the old brick buildings near the main railway station. 

Picture: Johanna Koskinen

Since these old warehouses are to make way for a new concert hall in the near future, new premises are currently being sought in the city centre. Johanna Koskinen (picture) who is responsible for questions of stock and marketing, reports that for two years a second branch has been operating in the second biggest city of Tampere that has 200.000 inhabitants. In the longer term, locations are planned in Turku (180.000 inhabitants) on the west coast and in Oulu, the biggest town in northern Finland (130.000 inhabitants). The shop sells ca. 3000 products (http://www.ruohonjuuri.fi). Half of these products are food. In addition there is a large selection of baby care products, paper goods, eco-textiles (picture below) and household goods. It is noticeable that a large number of products are sourced from small Finnish producers. Johanna Koskinen sums up the situation: “This is part of our philosophy, but it also creates problems.” She says that the suppliers often have insufficient business experience, no appreciation of the importance of packaging and marketing or are not in a position to supply on a regular basis. From time to time a producer goes bankrupt. “Of course, we could have an easier life, but we are after all an organic shop” is how she describes the situation. All local products come direct from the producer. Only food from abroad is supplied by the wholesaler. They also import items themselves in the non-food area.

Most customers were students when Johanna Koskinenen began working for Ruohonjuuri nine years ago. Today the biggest customer group is middle-aged women in employment and the parents of small children. “People have become much more aware of environmental issues in general since those days. We are no longer considered to be a fringe shop for weirdoes”, she says. Nevertheless the Ruohonjuuri shop still does a lot of educational work with campaigns to provide information on, for example, special products which the average population are not familiar with. At the exit of the shop is a post box where customers can leave messages (picture). “Mostly we get praise for our service and requests for more products. Some people ’post’ the packaging of products they have bought while on their travels and would like to be able to buy here”, Johanna explains. 1 % of turnover comes from the shop’s own mail order trade. This facility enables the enterprise to supply people in the countryside who do not have an organic shop nearby.

Olavi Mantyla, who runs the little organic shop Stadin Luomu (picture) in the centre of Helsinki, regards himself as a supporter of the small producers and as a slow-food practitioner. In his shop you find meat and seasonal items like strawberries, mostly in large quantities, but you have to order what you want. Satumarjan Luomupuoti in the indoor market in the Hakaniemi district concentrates only on fresh produce. The owner started up four years ago in a different market, which after renovation was devoted entirely to organic products. Unfortunately, the people running the covered market did not have much staying power and took the decision after only one year to change to antique furniture.

The nicest looking organic shop in Helsinki can be found a bit further from the centre in the district of Toolo on the ground floor of a house. Elotuuli (picture) was founded 15 years ago by the Steiner school nearby and also stocks handicraft materials, paper and toys. Having belonged to the wholesaler Itu for many years, it was taken over in 2005 by a new entrepreneur who would like to supplement the food range mainly with cosmetics and clothes.

As well as Ruohonjuuri, the organic bakery Samsara also runs an internet shop. Samsara is located in Vantaa which is one of the two towns that have practically joined up with Helsinki. The subsidiary firm called simply Luomukauppa (organic shop) stocks about 600 products from home and abroad. A considerably smaller selection is available on the internet from the organic shop in Turku, lloinen Maapallo (The happy Globe). As well as these shops there is also a small internet shop for natural products like cleaning materials and paper goods by the name of Maaemon Kangaskauppa (Materials from Mother Earth).

In places where there are not any organic shops, third-world shops are an important source. Also, the country-wide health food shop chains Ikivirea and Sinunkaupat sell some non-perishable organic products, although their overall stock is more a green alternative to traditional chemists.

The wholesaler Itu (New Shoots), founded in 1979, imports many products from Germany (e.g. from Allos, Bauck and Rapunzel) and is the main supplier of whole food shops http://www.elotuuli.fi and Luomukauppa.  The wholesaler Aduki that started up a year later sells not only food for human consumption but also animal food, essential oils and Bach flowers. Makrobios is the third largest wholesaler of organic food. Organic wines are imported by Bioviini. The wholesaler Reformikeskus sells food supplements and diet foods. LuomuAhola, a subsidiary of the conventional wholesaler Satotukku, deals in fruit and vegetables (picture).

www.iloinenmaapallo.fi
www.lumukauppa.fi
www.maaemo.fi
www.itubiodyn.fi
www.aduki.fi
www.bioviini.fi
www.reformikeskus.com