Meira has been roasting coffee in Vallila for more than a hundred years, and the iconic scent spreading from the roastery is familiar to both Helsinki residents and tourists. Now Meira, the legendary coffee roastery of the district, has launched the Vallila Roastery brand that is entirely dedicated to the roastery and the district itself. The Vallila Roastery coffees are a tribute to this historical place. About 30% of the coffee bought to Finnish homes is roasted in Vallila1 and it is natural that this concentration of coffee expertise and the enthusiasm of Finns for coffee will be honored with the new product line.

From Vallila with love

The first two coffees in the Vallila Roastery product family are Uganda Sipi Falls and Honduras Lempira, both organic and single origin coffees. In Finland, coffee consumers increasingly want high-quality products with taste nuances and experimentalism playing an increasingly important role. Therefore it is natural that the production of the coffees at the Vallila Roastery is carried out with love, from bean to cup, completely sustainably.

We are very proud of these coffees and of what they tell about the coffee culture of the Vallila district and the whole of Finland. These coffees are a true taste experience, not forgetting the sustainable production from farmland to packaging, says Brand Category Manager Eriika Reiss, responsible for Meira coffees.

Sustainably produced and roasted

Consumers are increasingly demanding sustainability from coffee producers. Kulta Katriina also constantly invests on ethics and environmental friendliness in its products. Vallila Roastery coffees have been produced on Rainforest Alliance and UTZ certified farms in Honduras and Uganda, which is in line with the sustainability goals set by Meira.

We have worked determined to ensure that in 2022, 100% of our raw coffee is certified.
In connection with the Vallila Roastery coffees we also launched a partnership project to support early childhood education. We are developing and renovating a pre-school and primary school in the Lempira region in Honduras. In addition, we are investing heavily in the environmental friendliness of our roastery: our recycling rate is already a whopping 80%, and our next goal is to cut our greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2022, says Marleena Bask, the Strategy and Sustainability Director at Meira.

The packaging materials of the Vallila Roastery are also produced in a sustainable way. Instead of the traditional aluminum-containing laminate, the coffee packaging is made of entirely aluminum-free and partially renewable plant-based raw materials. As a result, the carbon footprint of the package is 45% smaller. Environmentally friendly materials, optimized size of the package to reduce waste and the ability to preserve the authentic flavor of the coffee are the cornerstones of the development of the new packaging.

The deployment process was very simple: we did not have to replace our machinery to be able to produce packaging made of renewable raw materials. It was especially important for us that the coffee production, quality and product safety remain at a high level, says Eemil Ristaniemi, the Product Development Specialist for coffee.

 

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Addtional information:
Eriika Reiss, Brand Category, coffee
Phone: +358 044 306 85 75
email: [email protected]
Product and historic images: https://meira.emmi.fi/l/KwBTh2KfBks7

¹ Source: Nielsen Homescan 52w data ending 14.6.2020, Meira share 29%.