110 YEARS OF DAIRY

The dairy’s story began in 1915, when the Suonenjoki Cooperative Dairy, serving the entire parish, was established in Suonenjoki. The dairy, which adopted its current name in 1997, has held its ground amid pressure from dairy giants, shifts in partnerships, and upheavals in the dairy industry. Throughout this year, Maitomaa is celebrating the dairy’s milestones and the past century.

Product history reflects its time

In the early 1980s, a small dairy in Eastern Finland was among the first to begin producing cottage cheese, which was still a relatively unknown food product in Finland at the time. In the 1990s, a phenomenon familiar from newspaper headlines emerged: night milk, which was claimed to improve sleep quality.

In 2011, the UHT line built at the dairy expanded the product range to include flash-pasteurized, liquid products. Last year, the dairy’s first milk-based BIG PRO protein drinks, marketed under its own brand, hit the shelves and have quickly established themselves in the market.

Responsibility as a selling point

Maitomaa has stated its goal of becoming the world’s most sustainable dairy by 2030. The company has been working toward this goal for years.

“Our goal is to operate more responsibly every day than we did yesterday,” explains Maitomaa CEO Pasi Laitinen.

According to Laitinen, Maitomaa’s approach to responsibility encompasses three main areas: people, animals, and the environment.

All Maitomaa farms use the Welfare Quality assessment system, under which animal welfare is regularly monitored by an external auditor. Last year, the Vapaa family of more sustainable dairy products was launched. Now, product-specific carbon calculations are once again being conducted on the farms.

“We have the Maitomaa family, which includes Maitomaa producers, the dairy staff, and milk truck drivers. And naturally, we make sure that all family members are doing well,” says Pasi Laitinen, CEO of Maitomaa.