Apetit joins as a shareholder of the development company Foodwest

Apetit joins as a shareholder of the development company Foodwest

Apetit Plc, Investor News, 20 June 2018 at 10:00 a.m.

Apetit Plc has participated in a share issue of Foodwest Ltd, a food business development company, carried out in May-June 2018, and has subscribed 18.4 percent of the shares. Foodwest expanded its ownership base to enable the implementation of the planned factory investment and, consequently, to be able to provide its customers more versatile services. After the share issue Foodwest's main owners are Apetit, Atria, Valio and the City of Seinäjoki.

"The shareholding in Foodwest supports Apetit's strategic goals of investing in research and development, renewing and showing direction for vegetable-based eating. At Foodwest we have number of R&D specialists alongside our own resources. Also, we have an opportunity to produce selected products through Foodwest and, therefore, the new plant investment is in our interest," says CEO Juha Vanhainen.

Foodwest offers its services to food business operators in consumer understanding, product development and commercialization. Distribution and contract manufacturing are also part of Foodwest's service package.

"Eating trends have been changed dramatically and, for example, the increasing popularity of vegetable-based diet is evident globally. Apetit is number one in vegetables in Finland, but one of our goals is to increase international food trade. We must continuously be able to provide modern and interesting products created for certain markets in Finland and internationally. Our shareholding in Foodwest increases our agility to respond to consumer needs," says Vanhainen.

Foodwest employs 30 people and has offices in Seinäjoki, Tampere and Helsinki. The new factory investment is planned to be completed at the end of 2019 in Seinäjoki.

Apetit Plc

For further information, please contact:

Juha Vanhainen, CEO, Apetit Plc, tel. +358 10 402 00

Sanna Väisänen, Director, Communications and Investor Relations, Apetit Plc, tel. +358 10 4024041

Apetit is number one in vegetables. It is a food industry company firmly rooted in Finnish primary production. We create well-being with vegetables by offering healthy and tasty food solutions that make daily life easier. We also produce high-quality vegetable oils and rapeseed expellers for feeding stuff, and trade grain on the international markets. Apetit seeks to lead the way in vegetable-based food solutions. Apetit Plc’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. In 2017, the company’s net sales were EUR 312 million and it had approximately 640 employees. Read more at apetitgroup.fi.