In 2024, exports will account for 27% of Helsinki Mills’ turnover. 

– The Finnish market is stable, so we are looking for growth from exports. Our goal is that in five years' time, the value of exports will be around €25 million, compared to around €15 million today," says Export Director Lhassan El Farkoussi, who started at Helsinki Mills in 2010 when the export organisation was established.

Lhassan says that to achieve this goal, customer satisfaction and additional sales with existing customers are needed, as well as new customers in familiar countries and the opening of completely new markets. 

– The Netherlands is our biggest market. Oats have been exported to Spain and Australia for a long time. Our latest market openings include China, Japan, Canada, and New Zealand.

Helsinki Mills took its first organic products to the world as early as 1997. The organic market is still small, but it is growing. After a slight dip, demand for organic products is returning to the levels seen a couple of years ago.  The shift towards more nutritious and healthier meal options has led to a strong and rapid increase in demand in the oat market, to which Helsinki Mills responds by producing raw materials for oat drinks and various private label products. 

– The gluten-free market is a world of its own. When health is the primary concern, the requirements are extremely strict at every stage of the process. The whole chain must be fully allergen-proof, says Lhassan, who has been exporting gluten-free products for eight years.

How does a Finnish family-owned company, known in Finland as Helsingin Mylly and internationally as Helsinki Mills, stand out in the world?

– Origin is a particularly important, competitive advantage for us. Genuine Finnish oats taste of long summer days and a climate suited to oats. We are praised for our exceedingly high quality. Our customers value the expertise of Finnish farmers, as well as the farmer-mill-customer chain. We trust our farmers, and our customers trust us. And best of all, we have the perfect team in logistics and in the export department," says Lhassan.

95% of Helsinki Mills’ exports are shipped to the world from Vaasa. 

– Our customers travel to the Vaasa mill and farms in Ostrobothnia from far and wide. They want to see and experience the connection, to meet the farmers," says Lhassan, who started his studies in Vaasa when he moved to Finland from Morocco in 1997.