The Helsinki foodtech ecosystem boasts cutting-edge research, a supportive community, and strong investment opportunities. Since 2015, funding for the Finnish foodtech sector has surged, attracting interest from international investors. And by 2025, the sector is expected to grow by about 40%.

In this article, we’ll explore the factors that make Helsinki an ideal place for foodtech advancements and sustainable growth, with insights from a venture capitalist, research organisation, and a business founder.

A food industry with deep roots and an eye on the future

Finland’s food industry is the country’s largest manufacturer of consumer goods, with big players actively involved in new foodtech innovations and investments.   

Lauri Reuter of Nordic Foodtech VC— the first early-stage VC fund in the Nordics fully focused on foodtech startups—shares his view: “Companies like Valio and Fazer have been around for a century and are trailblazers in their fields. These are both tech-savvy companies that have done a lot of research. So we have the capability to create new technologies and new products—the muscle is there.”

Valio, for example, has been studying cellular agriculture since 2021 and started collaborating with Enifer on the PEKILO® protein research in 2022. Nordic Foodtech VC was an early supporter, leading Enifer’s first investment round in 2020 and participating in their Series A round.

Fazer, one of the Nordics’ largest food companies, also creates novel products and technologies. The company funds research at universities, research institutes, and its own Fazer Lab, and funds various projects like Fazer Xtech and Solein2Food, which aims to create new foods using Solar Foods’ carbon-neutral Solein protein.  

Strong and broad research & tech know-how

Helsinki’s foodtech scene is powered by R&D. Janne Saarikko from the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) explains: “For VCs and their deal flow—especially when it comes to the research phase—Finland is a hidden gem of innovation. International investors are surprised when I tell them about the things we have here. It’s not the number of startups, but it’s the quality. And it’s not the number of new ideas, but the validity of those ideas.”  

Research organisations like Luke and the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland have long been at the forefront of agricultural and plant genetics innovations. Many Helsinki foodtech startups, including Onego Bio, originated from these research powerhouses. Janne from Luke emphasises the crucial role of R&D: “You need scientists in order to innovate, and you need research before doing trial and error. If you don’t have solid research and understanding as a foundation, you won’t be able to find new solutions.”

Lauri shares the same sentiment: “In addition to making incremental changes like eating more plants and less meat, we need more radical new technologies. There is no other place for those to come from than scientific discovery, and that happens in universities and research institutions.”

Finland’s strong educational system also bolsters the foodtech industry, as a range of specialities are needed to advance the foodtech sector, from mathematicians to biologists and chemists. Although not all of Helsinki’s R&D capabilities are directly focused on the food industry, they still support the development of the food chain.

For example, Enifer did not come out of food research, but from forest industry research. The company uses biobased side streams to produce its sought-after products. Similarly, Kuva Space, a Finnish space tech startup, may not be directly related to food, but its satellites provide valuable agricultural data. 

“Our history in the forestry and paper industry now funnels into these new technological solutions in food,” says Lauri. “There is a massive amount of good competence, capabilities, and technologies in the Nordics related to food and agriculture that is still unused. And at Nordic Foodtech VC, our job is to support at least some of those people to build their ideas into companies,” he continues. 

Many global companies recognise Helsinki’s R&D advantages. For example, Elo Health, a smart nutrition company founded by Finns and based in San Francisco, chose Helsinki for its R&D hub. Co-founder and CEO of Elo Health, Ari Tulla, notes: “Access to talent, retention, and cost are the main reasons we chose Helsinki for our R&D hub. People in Finland don’t tend to change jobs every year like they do in Silicon Valley. We have a small team of eight people in Finland today, focusing on platform development and data science, but we expect to grow in the coming years.” 

Elo Health is also exploring partnerships with Finnish companies that have a big footprint in the US, like Polar Electro, Suunto, and Oura. “Finland has good products coming out in the activity tracking and wearable device spaces,” says Ari. 

Open-minded population  

Finns are always up for trying new food products and embrace climate-friendly eating habits.​ Lauri explains: “Finland has a young food culture. It’s not rigid and conservative like in some other European countries. We’re ready to try new things and are open-minded towards new types of solutions in the food industry. Also, it’s damn hard to grow anything in traditional ways in Finland—you have to come up with new things.”

Maija Itkonen, CEO of Onego Bio, agrees. She explains that VTT brought bio and food sciences together to spark creativity: “There is something quintessentially Finnish about such an open-minded approach, not characterised by bureaucracy. To drive change, we need people that are fearless, innovative, and willing to do things a bit differently.”

Support from public institutions and partners  

Public institutions and robust public-private partnerships in Helsinki foster fast-paced foodtech development. Lauri explains: “What makes Finland quite exceptional is the strong, societal support for companies that are creating something super impactful. There are grants available and governmental support for building something new that has a positive impact. This makes investors’ lives easier as well.”

Janne expands on the power of collaboration: “The role of research organisations is crucial because we need people to make quick and agile innovations, bring them to the market, and make them available for everyone. We also need big players in the industry who have the power to push things to the market and make large-scale changes. And finally, we need the public ecosystem—the regulation and funding in order to make that systemic change. In Finland, all these sectors work together.” 

Helsinki’s stable societal infrastructure also makes it a great place to live and work. “It’s fairly easy to come here, study, and work in English. The combination of societal, technological, and educational benefits, plus the natural resources, make for a thriving foodtech sector,” adds Janne.

Plus, companies with operations in Finland are well-linked to the rest of the Nordics. Lauri shares: “If you start a new foodtech company in Finland, you’re building it for global markets, in the context of the European sandbox of foodtech startups. Especially when it comes to later-stage companies, you’ll have to work with global investors.” For example, Elo Health got funding from Sweden-based investment firm Re:food and UK-based Octopus Ventures. 

Focus on climate issues and green solutions 

Finnish foodtech companies have become known for their focus on clean and green food production. A big reason for the foodtech sector’s growth in recent years is the climate issues we’re facing worldwide. “Over the last five years, food is increasingly seen as a climate issue. It’s always been a climate issue, but it hasn’t been so broadly discussed as a climate issue as it is now,” says Lauri. 

Food and agrifood are key players in climate challenges, from increasing food production to reducing food waste, CO2 emissions, and pesticide use. With the world’s population on the rise, there’s an urgent need for new food solutions that go beyond just cutting back on meat. 

Janne says: “We’re at a stage where we don’t even have enough arable land to create plant-based foods, so we have to come up with new things, which will be increasingly technology-oriented solutions.”

Regulation around corporate sustainability is tightening up as well. The EU’s new corporate sustainability due diligence directive will soon require all businesses to show what they’re doing to protect human rights and the environment. Janne explains: “Companies will have to show where their products come from, their carbon values, and trace everything back to the roots. This will be a huge thing in the coming years.” 

Get a taste of Helsinki’s foodtech scene

Growth companies, corporations, and investors have a lot to gain from the city’s foodtech ecosystem. “Helsinki is among the top 10 foodtech ecosystems in the world,” says Janne. “The flat structure and lack of hierarchy is one of our main benefits. Unlike in many other countries, you can talk to the top person of an organisation here, and it’s no big deal. So go and mingle with the ecosystem, and keep up discussions with people here. There are big global VCs that have established themselves in Helsinki in order to keep up with what’s going on in the ecosystem.” 

If you’re a fast-growing foodtech company eyeing expansion to Helsinki, Helsinki Partners is your go-to resource.