On 30.6.2021 the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA) approved the transaction in which Valio Oy is acquiring Heinon Tukku Oy. With the transaction, Valio becomes an even more comprehensive partner for food industry professionals.

“We are really pleased with the FCCA’s decision. Going forward, we will be a more comprehensive partner to those food industry professionals for whom quality, a deep understanding of customer needs, and delivery reliability are key factors. Heinon Tukku is a traditional family-owned company, and Valio is owned by Finnish dairy farmers. We share a similar set of values,” says Valio’s Tuomas Sorri, who will head the new business unit created through the transaction.

The FCCA investigated the competition impacts of the Valio and Heinon Tukku transaction. The transaction involves the merger of a manufacturer and a wholesaler. Based on the FCCA’s investigation, the merger will not lead to the market exclusion of Valio’s or Heinon Tukku’s competitors. A condition of the merger approval is that Valio must commit to protecting the sensitive information of competitors it receives as a result of the transaction so that it isn’t transmitted in the organisation in a manner that is detrimental to competition

“It is common that the implementation of a business merger is subject to certain conditions. We will act in the manner required by the FCCA’s decision,” notes Sorri.

Petri Heino, CEO of Tukkuheino Oy, shares his sentiments:

“I especially want to thank all Heinon Tukku employees and partners for the good collaboration, which in many cases has spanned multiple decades. Heinon Tukku has terrific employees, and through our shared years we have had so many great encounters with customers and other stakeholders. It is with bittersweetness but complete confidence that we now hand Heinon Tukku’s reins over to Valio.”

“Our family-owned company has three centuries of experience in the food industry, and we will remain in the food and beverage business. Our 120-year story will now live on in a new format. Heinon Tukku has been our group’s biggest, most prominent, and most well-known company, but we are retaining our ownership of Kalavapriikki, Uniq Drinks Finland, and Anton & Anton. Going forward, we want to put more focus on the development of these companies,” adds Heino.
 
 

Growth in eating out is a factor

The backdrop of the transaction is the eating out and takeaway trend, which is expected to return to growth after the coronavirus pandemic eases.

In the future, Valio will be a single-source supplier of everything a professional kitchen needs: in addition to an extensive selection of raw materials, support in product development and in creating meal and snack concepts.

Heinon Tukku has a portfolio of thousands of products – from fresh vegetables to napkins – and its customers are restaurants and coffee shops particularly in the Helsinki metropolitan area. Valio has the country’s most extensive distribution network and particularly public sector customers.
 
 

Read more:

Valio to acquire Heinon Tukku Oy ─ eating away from home is a long-term megatrend, Valio press release 27.4.2021
 

Valio, offering the taste of Nordic nature since 1905, is the biggest food business in Finland and a major player in the international dairy ingredients market. The company is owned by dairy cooperatives comprising some 4,300 family farms. Valio has 15 own production plants and its own distribution logistics. Wellbeing is at the heart of Valio’s technology innovations, expertise and products made from clean Finnish milk and other ingredients. Valio’s product development follows in the footsteps of Nobel Prize winner A. I. Virtanen. Valio products are found in 60 countries. In 2020 its sales totaled 1.8 billion euros. Valio’s goal is to make its milk carbon-neutral by 2035.

Tukkuheino Oy is a family-owned company established in 1899 and the parent company of Heino Group. Through its subsidiaries, it conducts wholesale and retail sales and imports of daily consumer goods and alcoholic beverages. The Group includes Tukkuheino Oy, Kalavapriikki Oy, Uniq Drinks Finland Oy ja Oy Anton & Anton Ab.

 

Valio is a Finnish manufacturer of dairy and other food products and one of the largest companies in Finland. Valio is a brand leader in Finland and a major player in the international dairy ingredients market. Valio also serves foodservice and public sector customers in Finland.

- Valio will be a good owner for Heinon Tukku. The strengths of the parties in this acquisition complement each other, and there are not many overlapping functions. Valio is a valued and responsible Finnish player and a familiar company for us; we have collaborated with Valio for more than 100 years, notes Tukkuheino Oy’s CEO Petri Heino.

The acquisition will create for Valio a new business unit, which will be headed by Tuomas Sorri. Sorri has been Senior Vice President of Valio Food Solutions, which serves professional kitchens and the food industry. Valio Executive Board member Elli Siltala will have the overall responsibility.

- Valio and Heinon Tukku genuinely complement each other. Heinon Tukku has a portfolio of thousands of products and its customers are restaurants and coffee shops particularly in the Helsinki metropolitan area. Valio brings the country’s most extensive distribution network and particularly public sector customers. Together we will be a more comprehensive partner to those restaurant industry players for whom quality, origin, a deep understanding of customer needs, and delivery reliability are key factors, notes Sorri.

- Heinon Tukku has a good reputation and is in good shape even after the year of the pandemic. I am convinced that Heinon Tukku will improve Valio`s ability to serve horeca-customers with wider selection of products and services, sums up Heino.

The acquisition is subject to approval by the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority. The transaction is expected to be completed during summer 2021.

Further information:

Tukkuheino Oy

Petri Heino, CEO, petri.heino@heinontukku.fi

Heinon Tukku Oy is a wholesaler and importer of daily consumer goods and a part of the family owned TukkuHeino corporation, founded in 1899. www.heinontukku.fi

Valio, offering the taste of Nordic nature since 1905, is the biggest food business in Finland and a major player in the international dairy ingredients market. The company is owned by dairy cooperatives comprising some 4,300 family farms. Valio has 15 own production plants and its own distribution logistics. Wellbeing is at the heart of Valio’s technology innovations, expertise and products made from clean Finnish milk and other ingredients. Valio products are found in 60 countries. In 2019 its sales totaled 1.8 billion euros. Valio’s goal is to make its milk carbon-neutral by 2035. www.valio.com