Finish companies, HKScan Corporation and Hes-Pro Oy, are cooperating to develop, produce and launch plant-based protein ingredients.
The agreement will see Hes-Pro Oy – part of the same group that owns fast food chain Hesburger – develop the products.
The company will initially manufacturer the products at its new production unit in Kaarina, though there are plans to expand production to HKScan’s units as well.
The plant-based protein products will then be launched by HKScan in the first half of 2020, firstly into foodservice and then later into retail.
The products will be first launched in Finland, but HKScan is also looking into opportunities to sell the products in its other home markets in the Baltic Sea region.
“Responsibly produced meat and meat products will continue to be at the core of HKScan’s operations, but to establish a broader base for our future growth, we want to be actively present in new consumer trends,” said HKScan’s CEO Tero Hemmilä.
He added: “The collaboration is a good example of HKScan’s partnership strategy whereby we are involved in evolving product categories and sales channels also through strong partnerships.”
Heikki Salmela, Chairman of the Hes-Pro Board, said: “We recognised the growing need for plant-based protein products several years ago and started developing our own plant-based protein products. Our goal is to make exceptionally tasty products using our own recipe.
“We have been looking for a suitable partner to launch our products widely to the consumer market. We were looking for an experienced partner with a strong presence in the consumer market and a wide geographical reach. So it is great to start working with HKScan, a company with an extensive sales and distribution network in the Nordic countries.”
