FDBusiness.com

Finnish dairy group Valio is investing €170 million in the construction of new snacks plant in Riihimaki in Southern Finland, near Valio’s existing dairy site at Herajoki. In the first phase of the development, Valio is building a plant with a floor area of around 18,000 square metres for the environmentally sound, efficient and flexible production of snacks. The new plant is expected to come on stream in 2017.

The new plant will enable Valio to further expand its snack products range both domestically and for export. Valio’s current dairy in Riihimäki is 45 years old and will continue liquid milk production after the new plant has been completed.

Sales of Valio products, especially milks and yoghurts manufactured in Finland, have increased markedly in Russia and Sweden in recent years. The demand for value added products, such as Eila® items, yoghurts and high protein products is expected to continue to grow.

Valio recently updated its snack selection for children by introducing yoghurt and yoghurt puddings with less sugar. The move is in line with Valio’s five year programme, launched in the summer of 2015, to reduce the sugar content of its snack products. The goal is to reduce the sugar content of Valio’s dairy-based snack products, yoghurt in particular, by 50% by 2020 – with no compromise on the flavour. One-third of Valio’s dairy-based snack products in Finland are now sugar-free or contain at least 30% less added sugar compared to conventional snack products.