In her work, Anu Saranpää, Vice President, Research and Development Atria Finland, faces not only the changing needs of Finnish consumers but also a world that is evolving ever more rapidly. New demands mean that companies need to be able to both identify key trends and have the skills to decide where to focus their efforts.

 

Anu Saranpää has a front-row seat in watching Finnish consumers’ food habits. “What I find particularly interesting in my work is seeing how Finns’ eating habits are changing, and what steps we need to be taking to be part of consumers’ daily lives in just the right way."

 

Atria’s research and development activities are not limited to coming up with ideas for new products; rather, it is broad-based collaboration with various research institutes and universities. Atria’s primary production projects strengthen the continuity of food production and enhance producers’ expertise through practical projects and small-group activities. In turn, research and development activities include applied research in the food industry, nutritional sciences, packaging development and food safety.

 

At Atria, research and development is based on the collection and analysis of comprehensive market and consumer data, for example. The focus of our work is on gaining a detailed understanding of consumer needs. This enables us to meet these needs as well as possible and gain a competitive edge in a market where companies are now competing for consumers’ attention in a wide variety of ways. Anu notes that interesting food phenomena and trends are constantly emerging around the world, and in the digital age, they also spread at record speed.

 

Although many consumers readily embrace various food trends, Saranpää points out that it is often better to wait and see: “We don’t want to simply jump on every bandwagon; rather, Atria wants to be involved in the right way, particularly in long-term changes that transform the market.”

 

Research and development projects support the strategy

Anu explains that at Atria, the selection and prioritisation of projects are guided by business-driven strategic decisions, as well as sustainability priorities. Sustainability is a key part of Atria’s strategy, and sustainability goals are also reflected in the areas where the company focuses its research and development efforts.

When selecting projects, prioritisation that ensures the achievement of the key objectives with the available resources is important, and we must also choose themes that generate sufficient interest among other stakeholders.

 

“When it comes to major requirements such as developing sustainability, we first explore potential avenues for collaboration with research institutes or universities. Projects are often carried out through collaboration between multiple parties, so we try to find sufficiently strong common themes for the various stakeholders,” Anu explains.

 

Carbon storage and salt reduction

According to Anu, Atria's research and development activities have especially emphasised various primary production projects in recent years. For example, Anu cites carbon sequestration projects that investigate the ability of soil and fields to store and release carbon, among other things. These activities will enable more sustainable food production in the future and increase our understanding of the environmental impacts of farm-level measures.

 

Atria is also striving to respond to the growing health trend through healthy food. For example, the REMU project (Co-development of healthier reformulated successful food products in South Ostrobothnia) examined how consumers reacted to products with a reduced salt content. Anu describes the results as interesting. The study found that if the amount of salt was reduced too quickly, it triggered an immediate reaction among consumers, and the participants started to add salt to their meals themselves. This meant that the desired health benefit was not achieved.

 

“This clearly shows that if the salt content of products changes too drastically, consumers may not follow suit. This is why the salt content must be reduced in stages. This example clearly demonstrates how research can be used to verify the effects of changes when we’re developing the taste of our products,” Anu notes.

 

Day-to-day life changes slowly

The world may seem to be changing very rapidly at times, which can give the impression that we are living in a time that is completely different from just ten years ago. However, Anu points out that in the bigger picture, routine purchasing behaviour and consumers’ daily lives change relatively slowly. Popular products remain popular, despite consumers seeking variety in their lives. “After all, the world changes rather slowly, which fortunately gives the industry the opportunity to respond to changes appropriately,” Anu emphasises.

 

Overall, Anu sees great opportunities in research and development projects. “Looking towards the future – and figuring out how to get there properly prepared – is truly fascinating!”