Dr. Oetker Stories
Dr. Oetker Finland – Pizza in the snow
Dr. Oetker Finland gives an insight into their various product ranges and what the Finns enjoy eating the most.
15.8.2021 • Products and Services
In Finland, pizza and baking is very popular. Also, vegetarian and vegan products
are on high demand. Dr. Oetker Finland continuously works on creating new
products and product ranges that meet the Finnish taste.
Finns love pizza
Pineapple on the pizza? This topic divides pizza fans. Not according to the Finns: “Pineapple definitely belongs on our pizza, I just have to look at the numbers. Ristorante Hawaii is one of our best-selling pizzas,” says Managing Director Pirkka Peltoniemi. More than 50 percent of the total sales at Dr. Oetker Finland are attributed to the pizza category. The Italian specialty is high on the list of Finns’ favorite dishes. Ristorante is the most popular frozen pizza.
Always looking for new ideas for the Pizza category: Sales Manager Mervi Pennanen (l.) and Marketing Manager Katariina Iivonen look at the latest sales revenue figures for the Pizza category.
Ristorante at the National Museum of Finland
“Ristorante variant Mozzarella has even made it into Finland’s National Museum, in an exhibition about how eating habits have changed over time,” Pirkka Peltoniemi, Managing Director of Dr. Oetker Finland, is delighted.
Pirkka Peltoniemi has been with the company since the beginning. The Managing Director of Dr. Oetker Suomi Oy – the official name of the Finnish national company - works with his small team on a basis of deep trust.
A strong team for 25 years
Dr. Oetker has been active in Finland for 25 years. In the beginning, just four of our Finnish colleagues started from scratch and worked hard for every shelf space in the retail sector. Initially, there was only pizza –to this day, the product for which the Dr. Oetker brand is most recognized. At least among the adults, because the children love PAULA and its pudding. In Finland, PAULA even has her own TikTok Channel!
Today, the supermarkets also have Dr. Oetker Vitalis, baking ingredients, decorations, and ice-cream sauces. Finns certainly love to bake; the range of baking ingredients and decorations includes over 140 different products. Baking is so popular here because it is a very creative, relaxing and, in the end, of course, an enjoyable activity. And it brings people together.
By the way, Dr. Oetker does not produce anything in Finland; the 17 colleagues live from sales and marketing alone.
Dr. Oetker worldwide
Vegetarian and vegan products are booming
Speaking of eating habits: Finns eat a very health-conscious and balanced diet. They are increasingly turning to vegetarian Dr. Oetker pizzas, and the Finnish colleagues expect that meat substitutes will become even more important for sales revenues in the coming years.
The vegan diet is really booming. We get lots of enthusiastic comments about our Ristorante Margherita Pomodori.
Katariina Iivonen, Marketing Manager Dr. Oetker Finland
The Ristorante and Rustica Pizzas are very successful in Finland. And Dr. Oetker Finland regularly launches new products to continue this success, for example the vegan Ristorante Salame Vegano. This pizza was ranked first for the VegeAwards 2024 in the category “Best new product of the year“!
In 2023, the My Pizza Slice product range was launched with 4 different mini pizza varieties. This year, Dr. Oetker Finland celebrates Rustica’s 10-year anniversary with the new Rustica Bacon & Nduja Style and various consumer activities.
