Our story began in 1849, when August Alexander Levón from Saloinen received permission from the Local Register Office to establish a steam-powered mill in Vaasa. August's hopes included the idea of having his very own bakery in connection with the mill, but the permit did not budge at the time.
Almost 50 years later, in 1904, August's dream finally came true. In the early days of bakery operations, the driving force was Commercial Counsellor Hanna Schauman. In the early stages, Höyryleipomo Osakeyhtiö manufactured all kinds of bread products, but soon the operations focused exclusively on crispbread.
In the 1920s, crispbread was not yet a familiar classic in every home, but its use had to be taught to the people. Bread poems were developed for this emergency, which delighted Finns in newspapers and magazines from 1922 to 1962.
Crispbread and sourdough bread to the world
Once crispbread had found its way into the hearts of Finns, there was a desire to spread the good news more widely. The 1952 Helsinki Olympics served as an excellent starting point for the world conquest of crispbread, when the international Finn Crisp brand saw the light of day. We are still on the same path, as Vaasan's sourdough rusks and crispbreads are still known around the world as Finn Crisp.
Later, the product range expanded again, and in the 1970s, in addition to crispbread, we were known as one of Finland's largest producers of oatmeal, breakfast cereals and macaroni. Demand was high at the time – about 25 kilograms of our products were used per person per year.
In the 1980s, we became Vaasanmylly Oy. At the same time, the success story of the Pieni Pyöreä crispbread began. The idea for the lovely shape came from a round mould at the Kotka crispbread factory, which was used to sample the dough mat. The size that fits in the hand and the memorably cheerful advertising song played on TV and radio were apt to make round crispbread a unit of time under every home favorite.
Successful Vaasan Ruispalat
Fresh bread enchanted us again in the 1990s, and soon the first Vaasan Rye pieces were already in the shops. By the way, about 67 pieces of Finland's most popular bread are eaten per person a year today – at best, about 373 million pieces every year!
Before the turn of the millennium, the idea of a completely new kind of product group arose: frozen pastries. Since then, we have been happy to see how Kotiuuni's home-baked products have made the everyday lives of Finns easier and found their place at coffee tables.
Our tasty journey continues
Since 2009, we have been known as Vaasan Oy. In 2015, we became part of Lantmännen Unibake, one of Europe's leading bakery companies. Lantmännen Unibake has operations in more than 20 countries around the world, and through Unibake we are part of the farmer-owned Lantmännen conglomerate.
Over 170 years of experience and our passion for baking bread have produced a lot of new good food in recent years. We have been able to taste, among other things, the addictive Vaasan Ruispalat Ohut Herkku, oat breads baked without wheat, and the cotton candy-soft Vaasan Mums breads that are tasty for the whole family.
We will continue our work to promote Finnish bread culture, driven by the favourite breads of Finns.
