Interview with Fodelia’s CEO Riikka Wulff

For those who have not previously heard of Fodelia, can you tell us more about your business, what you do, and which markets you address? 

Fodelia is a publicly listed food company on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market in Finland. Our mission is to provide high-quality, locally produced, and innovative food solutions for both the professional and consumer markets. Our core business is Feelia, which serves the food service market – primarily schools, care homes, and elderly care units, which is a stable and growing sector, especially as more municipalities outsource their food operations. In addition to Feelia, we also operate in the consumer segment through our brand Oikia, which focuses on snacks and ready-made meals, while also manufacturing private label products for retailers. As of now our sales are domestic, however, we do have some operations outside of Finland. We also run a joint venture called Fodbar, which combines food production and service for the food service market.

Can you tell us more about Feelia’s products and services, the benefits, and how they compare to competing solutions?

Feelia has a unique market position in Finland, offering pre-prepared, long shelf-life meals primarily for the elderly care and healthcare sectors. This enables our customers to minimize food waste and eliminate the need for large central kitchens, as the meals are simply heated or finished locally. For example, food that isn’t used today can be stored and served six weeks later, something especially valuable in the public sector. We also support our offering with technology: the Feelia ERP system helps customers place orders based on the number of eaters, not quantities of ingredients, which streamlines operations. This integration of food and tech creates significant efficiencies. Retention is strong, we’ve never lost a major customer, and when we acquire new ones, we often grow with them over time. With tightening public budgets, we see a clear trend toward outsourcing, which opens more opportunities for our concept.

Following the rebranding of Fodelia Retail and the launch of the online store, how do you plan to drive further growth in Oikia’s business, particularly in the ready meals and snacks segments?

The rebranding was done to concentrate all marketing resources under the Oikia brand, allowing us to build stronger brand awareness. Although still a small player, our potato chips held a minor market share in Finland last year – and we believe in the concept. The ready meals market is growing, as consumers increasingly seek convenient, high-quality food solutions that fit their lifestyle. We’re investing in automated marketing and working with new e-commerce partners to grow our customer base. We’ve also identified our core customer segments where we will focus our digital marketing accordingly. We aim to continue innovating around distinctive offerings that stand out in a crowded retail space.

How do Fodelia’s recent divestments and the integration of the juice manufacturer Marjavasu into Feelia impact the company’s financial performance and strategic direction moving forward?

Our strategy has clarified our focus and streamlined operations. We’ve divested non-core and less profitable units to concentrate fully on our strengths, especially Feelia. Financially, the result is a more solid foundation. Our guidance of 58–63 EURm in net sales for 2025 reflects stronger performance than the previous year, and our strategy is now more sharply defined. Marjavasu’s merger into Feelia is expected to bring cost synergies and sales opportunities, especially as we now aim to better cross-sell Feelia’s food products and Marjavasu’s Delimax juices across shared customer bases. Looking ahead, we see substantial growth potential in Finland’s public food services, and possibly internationally, should we choose to expand outside Finland in the future.

Where do you see Fodelia in a year, and what is the strategy to get there?

In one year, we expect Feelia to continue growing steadily with both existing and new customers, and many of the growth opportunities are already in our pipeline. With the public sector, lead times are longer, it can take several years from first discussions to actual contracts, we’re laying the groundwork now and have since before several advanced discussions. We are also streamlining our internal operations to match the efficiency we promote to our customer, where the integration of Feelia and Marjavasu, particularly the merging of sales forces, is key to maximizing cross-sell potential. On the consumer side, we aim to strengthen Oikia through targeted marketing efforts, particularly among students – future snack consumers with growing purchasing power.

Could you name three reasons as to why Fodelia is a good investment today?

1. Strong and growing core business: Feelia delivered over 30% growth in both revenue and profit last year and continues to benefit from a unique market position in Finland’s public food service sector. 

2. Record-strong financials: Our financial position is the strongest it has ever been. Years of investment are now paying off, and we are in a solid position to make strategic investments when the right opportunities arise, as shown by the successful acquisition of Marjavasu.
   

3. Megatrend tailwinds: Our business is backed by powerful megatrends: aging populations, increased outsourcing of care services, and the need for cost-efficient, sustainable food solutions. These trends support continued demand for Feelia’s concept, both now and in the future.