17.02.2004
Crisp bread – modern and traditional all at once

100 years of Finnish crisp bread

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the crisp bread production at Vaasan & Vaasan Oy in Finland. The company was founded as early as 1849 but during the first decades focused at milling, not baking. Nevertheless, there was an increasing demand for industrial bakery products in Finland and this encouraged to establish Vaasan Höyryleipomo Oy (“Vaasan Steam Bakery”), in 1904. The newly founded company baked fresh bread and crisp bread, but concentrated after a while on the latter. Fresh bread reappeared in1990´s. Today Vaasan & Vaasan is globally the second largest crisp bread producer: the export of FINN CRISP branded crisp bread and thin crisps is extensive and goes to more than 30 countries.

Crisp bread is a traditional bread product, favoured in Northern Europe in particular. The long shelf-life soon made it popular and industrially produced bread was scarce anyway. When baked at home, bread was to last long and therefore baked in large quantities at a time. Bread was an essential source of nourishment.

Today many more attributes of the crisp bread determine the popularity. In Northern Europe it experiences a new coming: there is an abundance of taste varieties and textures available. Crisp bread is a popular snack between meals. It also used as a supplement at any meal, replacing fresh bread. Crisp bread has its given place on the cheese platter. With a dip sauce crisp bread turns into an hors-d’oeuvre or a snack, much more fibrous and healthy and far less fatty than most equivalent alternatives.

On some markets, such as Germany, North America and Russia, crisp bread is more and more often regarded as a health product. Produced on wholegrain rye, it contains plenty of fiber indispensable for our well-being. We all know that our Western diet contains too little fiber. Products made of wholegrain, such as crisp bread, are indeed excellent sources of fiber. The numerous scientific studies that support the health benefits of rye and fiber now contribute towards an increasing consumption of crisp bread, especially amongst people with an active interest in well-being and health. Crisp bread is taking its natural place in today’s healthy and trendy diet.

We foresee an increasing consumption of crisp bread on many markets, old and new. Healthy and trendy as it is - alongside all the new taste variations as a result of active product development - will make this happen. The unprecedented success on the Russian market illustrates this well: in just a couple of years the FINN CRISP range from Finland has become the most popular imported crisp bread brand.

Vaasan & Vaasan Oy
Mr. Magnus Johanson, Director of International Operations
Tel. +358 204 46 111 or +358 40 715 6977

Vaasan & Vaasan Group is the biggest baking company in the market area of Finland and Baltic States, one of the world's largest producers of crispbread and an important Nordic bake-off producer. The FINN CRISP branded products are produced in Finland and exported to more than 30 countries. The most important export markets are Scandinavia, Germany, Great Britain, Russia, the Benelux countries and North America. Vaasan & Vaasan Group includes Vaasan & Vaasan Oy in Finland, AS Leibur in Estonia, A/S Hanzas Maiznicas in Latvia, UAB Vilniaus Duona Plius in Lithuania and Delice Scandinavica AB in Sweden. The estimated company turnover in 2003 was close to EUR 280 million and the personnel approximately 4 000.