Finland: Tomato brand NAMS and production greenhouses acquired following Agrifutura bankruptcy

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The Finnish cooperative Närpes Grönsaker has purchased the tomato brand NAMS. The new owners intend to preserve and further develop the nationally known brand. Production, packaging, and marketing of tomatoes will continue in both Närpes and Pori.

The NAMS brand was previously developed and owned by Agrifutura Ab in Pori.

Agrifutura, founded in 2015 and known for growing in the Nordic’s first semi-closed automated greenhouse, went bankrupt in early August. The filing appears in Finland’s insolvency register on August 10, following an initial report from regional paper Satakunnan Kansa on August 7.

The cooperative also announced that two of its members acquired the greenhouses of Agrifutura.

© NAMS

Juha Falck, CEO of Agrifutura Oy, points to energy costs. “The heating price, up more than 80 percent in four years, and the large electricity price spikes have affected production decisively,” Juha says to Satakunnan Kansa. The company had hedged its electricity exposure. The spikes came anyway. Over the past 12 months, Agrifutura sought new investors and financing arrangements to correct its financial position. None of those efforts produced a result.

A buyer or successor for the operation has been sought, and Närpes Grönsaker also mentions that two of its members will continue as the owners of the greenhouse.

Närpes Grönsaker also intends to continue marketing and selling tomatoes under both the Närpes Grönsaker brand and the NAMS brand. “The starting point for the acquisition is that we see that NAMS and Närpes Grönsaker do not compete but complement each other. The brands have different market positions and target groups, and therefore the collaboration makes it possible to serve an even broader customer base and strengthen our presence in the market. Our goal is to increase demand for Finnish greenhouse vegetables and strengthen the competitiveness of domestic production”, says Närpes Grönsaker CEO Tomas Lindfors.

“Pori has done a very good job with the marketing and production of tomatoes. The NAMS brand is very popular, and we absolutely want to maintain this expertise.”

For more information, please contact:
Närpes Grönsaker
Tomas Lindfors
[email protected]

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Source: The Plantations International Agroforestry Group of Companies