Raisio Oyj, known internationally as Raisio Group, is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

company specialised in healthy, responsibly produced food and ingredients. Raisio Group's well-known international brands are

Benecol Benecol is a brand of cholesterol-lowering food products owned by the Finnish company Raisio Group, which owns the trademark. Raisio Group licenses the Benecol brand and sells the ingredient stanol ester to food companies around the world. The ...

and

Elovena Elovena is a Finnish food brand by the Raisio Group. The Elovena product line includes oat flakes and other cereal products. In 2020 the product line included prepackaged porridges, flakes, bran and germ, vegetable protein products, snack drinks a ...

. Benecol foods were launched in Finland in 1995 as part of major public health initiative to lower the nation's cholesterol. Two decades later Benecol product range has grown to include spreads, yogurts and yogurt drinks trusted by millions around the world. In 2021, the Group's net sales totalled EUR 246 million and comparable EBIT was EUR 22 million. Raisio employs some 400 persons. Raisio's production plants are located in Finland and the company has operations in ten countries. The Group’s headquarters is in Raisio, Western Finland. The key markets of Benecol products are Finland, the UK, Poland, Ireland and Belgium. In 2004, the company divested its

paper chemical Paper chemicals designate a group of chemicals that are used for paper manufacturing, or modify the properties of paper. These chemicals can be used to alter the paper in many ways, including changing its color and brightness, or by increasing i ...

division, Raisio Chemicals, to

Ciba Specialty Chemicals Ciba was a chemical company based in and near Basel, Switzerland. "Ciba" stood for "Chemische Industrie Basel" (Chemical Industries Basel). It was formed as the non-pharmaceuticals elements of Novartis were spun out in 1997, following the merg ...

. In 2009, Raisio sold its margarine business to

Bunge Limited Bunge Limited is an American agribusiness and food company, incorporated in Bermuda, and headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. As well as being an international soybean exporter, it is also involved in food processing, grain tr ...

. Raisio Group acquired the British food company Glisten in 2010. The next year, Raisio acquired Big Bear. In November 2014 Raisio acquired the Benecol business from the affiliates of Johnson & Johnson in the UK, Ireland and Belgium and amended the agreement on the Northern American markets of Benecol. In 2016 Raisio divested its snack bar business in the UK. The main target for 2007 was to improve profitability through streamlining, focusing and enhancing operations. Hereby Raisio divested its food potato and diagnostics businesses and carried through several minor structural changes. Raisio and its partner McNeil signed an agreement that returned Benecol rights to Raisio. The company divested its confectionery business in the end of 2017 and the cattle feed business in 2018. The strategy 2022–2025 has a clear focus on healthy, responsibly produced food. In 2021, Raisio acquired the Finnish company Verso Food Oy and published a new strategy for 2022–2025. The strategy is based on three focus areas:

products and plant stanol ester solutions, oat-based consumer products and oats as an industrial raw material, and plant-based food.

References

External links

*{{official, http://www.raisiogroup.com/ Companies listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Food and drink companies of Finland Food and drink companies established in 1939 1939 establishments in Finland