Raisio Group
Finnish food company known for Benecol heart-health products, Elovena oat foods, and plant-focused nutrition.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Raisio Group, legally Raisio Oyj, is a Finnish food company headquartered in Raisio in western Finland. The company develops, manufactures, and markets branded food products, with its best-known international businesses centered on Benecol and Elovena. Its portfolio has historically also included grain products, plant-based foods, animal feed, snacks, confectionery, food ingredients, and other businesses that were subsequently divested as the group concentrated its activities. Raisio’s most distinctive asset is Benecol, a range built around plant stanol ester and positioned for consumers seeking to manage cholesterol as part of a healthy lifestyle. Benecol foods were introduced in Finland in 1995 in the context of a national public-health effort to reduce cholesterol levels. The range later expanded beyond spreads into products such as yogurts and yogurt drinks. Raisio’s other major international brand, Elovena, is associated with oats and oat-based foods, particularly breakfast products and consumer staples. The group has repeatedly reshaped its portfolio. It sold Raisio Chemicals, its paper-chemicals division, to Ciba Specialty Chemicals in 2004, disposed of its margarine business to Bunge in 2009, acquired the British food businesses Glisten in 2010 and Big Bear in 2011, and acquired the Benecol business in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Belgium from Johnson & Johnson affiliates in 2014. It later divested its United Kingdom snack-bar business, confectionery operations, and cattle-feed business. In 2021 it acquired Finnish plant-based food company Verso Food, supporting a strategy that emphasized Benecol and plant stanol ester solutions, oats, oat-based consumer products, and plant-based foods. Raisio’s 2025–2027 strategy places emphasis on breakfast and snacking, heart health, and new business opportunities. The company has stated that it intends to use its balance sheet more actively for targeted acquisitions and research investment. In March 2025 it sold its plant-protein business, while retaining plant-based food innovation and the broader food transition as strategic themes. Raisio manufactures in Finland and has employees in seven countries. Its principal offices include locations in Finland, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Poland, and Ukraine, and the group exports to more than 40 markets. In 2024, reported net sales were EUR 226.8 million and comparable EBIT was EUR 23.4 million. The company had approximately 350 employees. These figures describe the 2024 reporting period and should not be treated as current-period financial guidance.
History
Raisio Group is a Finnish food company whose development has been marked by portfolio expansion followed by increasing concentration on branded, health-oriented nutrition. The group’s roots and headquarters are in Raisio, Finland, but its activities have extended beyond the domestic market through exports, international offices, acquisitions, and licensing arrangements. A defining milestone was the launch of Benecol foods in Finland in 1995. The launch formed part of a public-health context in which reducing population cholesterol was a significant objective. Benecol used plant stanol ester as its central functional ingredient and established Raisio as a prominent participant in the functional-food category. Over time, the range broadened from spreads to include yogurts and yogurt drinks, and the brand became Raisio’s principal international health-nutrition platform. During the 2000s Raisio sought to improve profitability through streamlining and a clearer focus on selected operations. In 2004 it sold Raisio Chemicals, its paper-chemicals division, to Ciba Specialty Chemicals. Around the same period it divested additional non-core activities, including its food-potato and diagnostics businesses. In 2009 the company sold its margarine business to Bunge Limited. These transactions reduced exposure to activities outside the group’s emerging food and nutrition priorities. Raisio then expanded selectively in British food. It acquired Glisten in 2010 and Big Bear in 2011. These transactions added food brands and capabilities in the United Kingdom, although Raisio subsequently continued to adjust the portfolio. In 2014 the company acquired the Benecol business in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Belgium from affiliates of Johnson & Johnson and amended arrangements covering the North American Benecol markets. This strengthened Raisio’s control over one of its most strategically important brands. The group later disposed of its United Kingdom snack-bar business in 2016 and its confectionery business at the end of 2017. In 2018 it sold its cattle-feed business. The divestments reflected a continuing effort to concentrate resources on consumer food, oats, heart health, and related nutrition opportunities rather than maintaining a broad collection of food and non-food businesses. In 2021 Raisio acquired Verso Food Oy, a Finnish plant-based food company. The acquisition supported a strategy for 2022–2025 built around three areas: Benecol products and plant stanol ester solutions; oat-based consumer products and oats as an industrial raw material; and plant-based food. Elovena became a key expression of the oat platform, while Benecol remained the group’s principal heart-health proposition. In March 2025 Raisio announced a further strategy for 2025–2027. Its stated growth areas are breakfast and snacking, heart health, and new business to Raisio. The company also said it would use its strong balance sheet more efficiently, including through targeted acquisitions and research investment. During the same month it sold its plant-protein business. Raisio presented the divestment as a portfolio decision rather than an abandonment of plant-based innovation: plant-based food and the wider transition toward more sustainable food were to remain relevant to its operations. By 2024 Raisio reported net sales of EUR 226.8 million and comparable EBIT of EUR 23.4 million. Its production plants were in Finland, while the group employed approximately 350 people in seven countries, maintained key offices in Finland, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Poland, and Ukraine, and exported to more than 40 markets. The modern group is therefore more focused than its historical predecessor, with its identity centered on branded foods, oats, heart health, responsible production, and selected international growth.
- 2025
2025–2027 strategy announced
[1]Raisio identifies breakfast and snacking, heart health, and new business as its three strategic growth areas.
- 2025
Plant-protein business sold
[1]Raisio sells its plant-protein business while retaining plant-based innovation as a strategic theme.
- 2024
2024 financial results reported
[1]Raisio reports EUR 226.8 million in net sales and EUR 23.4 million in comparable EBIT for 2024.
- 2021
Verso Food acquired
[1]Raisio acquires Finnish plant-based food company Verso Food Oy.
- 2018
Cattle-feed business divested
[1]Raisio sells its cattle-feed business as part of its portfolio concentration.
- 2017
Confectionery business divested
[1]Raisio divests its confectionery business at the end of the year.
- 2016
UK snack-bar business divested
[1]Raisio sells its snack-bar business in the United Kingdom.
- 2014
Benecol business acquired in selected European markets
[1]Raisio acquires Benecol operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Belgium from Johnson & Johnson affiliates and revises arrangements for North American markets.
- 2011
Big Bear acquired
[1]Raisio acquires British food company Big Bear.
- 2010
Glisten acquired
[1]Raisio acquires British food company Glisten.
Products and positioning
Healthy, responsibly produced food focused on heart health, oats, breakfast and snacking, and plant-based nutrition.
Functional foods and heart-health nutrition · 1995
Benecol
Benecol is Raisio’s best-known functional-food brand. Its products are built around plant stanol ester and are positioned for consumers seeking to reduce cholesterol as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle. The brand began in Finland in 1995 and subsequently expanded internationally. Its range has included spreads, yogurts, and yogurt drinks, giving the brand a presence across refrigerated and everyday food occasions rather than limiting it to a single format.
Oat-based consumer foods
Elovena
Elovena is Raisio’s major oat-focused consumer brand. It is associated with breakfast and cereal products and supports the group’s strategic emphasis on oats as both a consumer-food platform and an industrial raw material. The brand fits Raisio’s focus on accessible everyday nutrition, breakfast occasions, and products based on plant ingredients.
Plant-based foods
Plant-based food portfolio
Raisio has developed and acquired plant-based food activities as part of its broader response to changing food preferences and the food transition. The company sold its plant-protein business in 2025, but stated that plant-based innovation and the development of more responsible food choices would continue to form part of its strategy.
Food ingredients and industrial raw materials
Grain and oat ingredients
Raisio’s grain activities include oat-based consumer products and oats supplied as an industrial raw material. This platform connects agricultural and ingredient capabilities with branded foods, particularly breakfast and cereal products. It is one of the areas identified in the group’s 2022–2025 strategy and remains relevant to its later focus on breakfast and snacking.
Brand decisions
2025
2025–2027 growth strategyStrategyBackground
Raisio sought to define a more concentrated growth agenda after several portfolio changes and to make greater use of its balance sheet.
Action taken
The company identified breakfast and snacking, heart health, and new business to Raisio as its three growth areas, with targeted acquisitions and research investment identified as potential growth tools.
Aftermath
The strategy preserved the company’s focus on Benecol, oats, and responsible food while creating room for selective expansion.
2025
Sale of plant-protein businessM&ABackground
Raisio reviewed its plant-based portfolio while retaining plant-based food innovation as part of its broader strategic direction.
Action taken
The company sold its plant-protein business in March 2025.
Aftermath
Raisio stated that supporting the food transition and developing plant-based products would remain important despite the divestment.
2021
Acquisition of Verso FoodM&ABackground
Raisio’s strategy was expanding beyond traditional grain products toward plant-based nutrition and the wider food transition.
Action taken
Raisio acquired Finnish plant-based food company Verso Food Oy.
Aftermath
The acquisition supported the 2022–2025 strategy’s focus on plant-based food alongside Benecol and oats.
2014
Acquisition of Benecol operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and BelgiumM&ABackground
Benecol was a central international asset, but rights and operating arrangements differed by market.
Action taken
Raisio acquired the Benecol business in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Belgium from Johnson & Johnson affiliates and amended the arrangement covering North American Benecol markets.
Aftermath
The transaction strengthened Raisio’s control of the brand in important European markets.
2007
Profitability improvement and portfolio streamliningStrategyBackground
Raisio set improving profitability as a central objective and reviewed activities that were not aligned with a more focused operating model.
Action taken
The company streamlined operations, divested its food-potato and diagnostics businesses, and completed other structural adjustments.
Aftermath
The measures contributed to a longer-term shift toward food, nutrition, and selected branded activities.
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