About FinFoodNet project

Food exports have great strategic importance for Finland (Internationalization of Finnish food and Beverages industries, Business Finland, 2022). Since domestic consumption is not growing, the growth of the food industry must be partly sought from exports. Increasing exports also has a positive effect on maintaining the level of production in the food sector.

However, Finland is one of the worst exporters of food in the EU. For example, compared to the Danish export of food expertise, Finland has a lot to learn and do. In Denmark, e.g. the cooperation between the regions is close and strategic, unlike in Finland, where expertise in the food industry is primarily utilized on a regional/city basis.

Now attention is being paid to food export know-how and the internationalization of the industry, and there is a clear place for the development of the food export ecosystem. In the government program, the goal is to double food exports by 2031. It requires different actors and companies to commit to common growth goals, to coordinate financial investments and to renew operating methods. BF/ Food from Finland made a strategy for the internationalization of the Finnish food industry in 2022, according to which Finland needs a long-term plan for food exports, continuity, a clear increase of resources and sufficient support for companies.

Innocities’ joint food export-themed lead project answers the challenges described above. The participating cities include Seinäjoki, Jyväskylä, Lahti, Kuopio, Turku and Vantaa/ HEVI region. The project is implemented by Into Seinäjoki Oy, Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences, LAB University of Applied Sciences, Savonia University of Applied Sciences, University of Turku and the City of Vantaa.

The target group is the actors of the food export ecosystem (companies, RDIE actors and other public organizations in the project partners’ areas of operation), who bring their own expertise to the promotion of Finnish food exports and who are able to enhance the export measures of food companies.

The goal of the project is to build an inter-regional network ”Finnish Food Cities and Regions” to support and encourage Finnish companies operating in the food chain to invest in export growth and internationalization. The network consolidates interregional cooperation in the food sector, between cities as well as RDI operators and companies. In the project, the know-how, development platforms and possible shortcomings of different regions are identified, regional know-how profiles are formed and made visible, and cooperation between regions is developed to promote food exports. The goal is also to catalyze export-serving RDI clusters and development projects and strengthen cooperation in the direction of international RDI networks and thus generate added value for the Finnish food sector.

As a result of the project, cooperation between regions in food exports will increase, roles and competence strengths will become clearer and become familiar to operators, helping to guide companies to the services offered across provincial borders and eventually to the export market. The existing training offer can also be developed to better meet the needs. In the long term, the project and multidisciplinary cooperation will promote the emergence of new export product and service innovations and open doors to new market areas, creating growth and success for food exports.

In the project, a network of regions and cities is created, which creates conditions that best realize the ambitions of companies and support the promotion of exports. Due to the impact of the project, the Finnish food industry and its know-how are of even greater interest in the world.

The project promotes the goals of the Renewing and Competent Finland 2021–2027 program and supports the goal of increasing the well-being of the EU’s Baltic Sea Strategy. The executors are from strong food regions and cities, in whose regional programs and strategies, as well as smart specialization strategies and innovation activity ecosystem agreements, the food sector plays a significant role.

The duration of the group project is two years, 1 January 2025-31 December 2026. The total budget of the project is 749 360 euros, of which ERDF and government support accounts for 75%.