Liquorice manufacturer in Finland delighted with his growth rate

Liquorice is to Finland what Bratwurst is to Thüringen or baguette and croissant are to France. One of the biggest manufacturers of liquorice in Finland is Makulaku, that has its headquarters in Porvoo, 50 km north-east of Helsinki. There they make 80 different sorts of the tasty confectionery. Four of these are organic and they are exported mainly to Western Europe. 1.8 million kilograms of liquorice products are manufactured every year.

(Picture: Jan Nylund, on the left, and Thomas Hackman) 

Liquorice in sticks or snakes, liquorice with brown, red, green or yellow filling, liquoricen twists, liquorice revolvers, liquorice dusted with powdered sugar, liquorice in strips, liquorice pieces in the red premium-mix box ... everything you could possibly want is there for the taking. Since 1997, Makulaku - it means something like ’tasty liquorice’ in Finish – has been making organic liquorice as well. “In those days, Makulaku was the only manufacturer of organic liquorice in the market,“ says Erkki Pöytäniemi who, as a freelance adviser for the organic industry, has supported the company in Porvoo developed the first organic products in the late 1990th. What began with the Dutch customer Terrasana has now expanded greatly, and they send supplies not only to Holland but also mainly to Germany, Spain, Italy, France and Belgium. The products are marketed either under a private label, as in the case of Terrasana, or under the manufacturer’s brand Makulaku, as in the case of Dennree. The wholefood wholesaler Urtekram in Denmark is Makulaku’s latest customer.They have also recently established a presence in Norway. “95 % of our organic products are exported,” explains Sales Director Thomas Hackman. The equivalent figure for the conventional product range is 40 %, with goods being sent to 20 countries.

"The organic products are manufactured every fifth week,” says Jan Nylund. This is why attending trade fairs such as BioFach in Nuremberg, Natural Products in London or Natexpo in Paris is so important. They made their first contact with customers at BioFach in 1997, and since then they have been on an upward trajectory. In the meantime, the mono-product liquorice, available as sticks, bites or ropes, has been joined by three varieties with fillings: cocoa, strawberry and mint. A big problem in product development that took many years to resolve was how to substitute gelatine. “Because we wanted to offer something for vegans, we had to develop a recipe without gelatine, which was far from easy“, Nylund explains who has worked for the company for 17 years. (Picture on right: Production at Makulaku in Porvoo)

In the meantime, organic production accounts for 10 % of total production and comes to180,000 kg a year. “We registered a growth rate of 48 % in the first six months, which is huge,” Sales Director Hackman is delighted to report. Since the volume of material to be processed has been increasing continually, in 2011 they extended their facilities by building a modern production hall (picture). This increased the area by 2,000 m² to 6,500 m². For heating and cooling they use a geothermal heat pump. Unfortunately, they are only thinking of more products in the organic segment in the medium term. As Nylund explains, organic liquorice is 30 % more expensive than the conventional versions, which actually doesn’t prevent them expanding the number of varieties for the moment.

Makulaku was founded by Helge Jussila in 1994. His two daughters Anne and Gina have been running the company since he past away in 2010. This family business employs 40 people, and in 2012 it recorded turnover of € 5m.

(Picture: Organic liquorice is sold in 70 cm long ropes, in 80 - 100 g bags and in 28 g sticks)

How is liquorice manufactured and what does it contain? Organic liquorice consists mainly of molasses, wheat flour, sugarbeet syrup, sea salt and anise oil. The ingredient that gives it its taste is the extract of liquorice root, although it constitutes only 2 % of the end product. What makes organic liquorice different is the use in the conventional product – for reasons of colour, taste and suppleness – of several artificial colorants (E 120, E 131, E 150c, etc.), acidifiers (E 330), a glazing agent (E 901) and gelatine.  The liquorice plant grows in the Mediterranean region, needs deep fertile soil and reaches a height of up to one metre. The roots are harvested and dried in the autumn and an extract is made from them that is used in the manufacture of liquorice and also as an additive in herb teas.   “Because it contains saponine and in particular glycyrrhizinic acid, liquorice root is an expectorant, is secretolytic (helps to thin mucous) and secretomotoric (loosens mucous). Liquorice extracts have been shown to have an antibacterial and antimycotic effect.  Typical applications are for coughs, bronchial catarrh and other ailments of the upper respiratory tracts,“ according to Wikipedia. The liquorice plant is grown in Spain, France, Italy and Turkey.   As well as sweet liquorice, Makulaku produce and sell salty liquorice. In the big department store Stockmann in the centre of Helsinki you find shelves in the confectionery department stocked with 90 different sweet and salty varieties of liquorice!   Tip: www.makulaku.fi