Welcome to the USA Coaching Day to hear about the opportunities awaiting Finnish food & beverage companies in this market!
Food From Finland is arranging a coaching day to give an overview of current status of the USA market as well as the challenges and valuable information regarding the market entry process. We have invited experts and entrepreneurs to share valuable learnings and insights.
Topics on the Agenda
Our first speaker Jenny Gyllander, Founder of Thingtesting will share insights about the importance of packaging, design and brand building. Jenny will share the latest DTC trends and what it takes to build a successful brand in the highly competitive US market.
Aistila Oy carried out a desk study for Food from Finland earlier this year to find out how sustainability claims are used in the launch of packaged food products in Europe and the US. The study looked at product launch with 13 different sustainability claims.
Goodio, One Eyed Sprits, Noodelist products are already distributed in the US. Jussi Salonen from Goodio, Olli Hietalahti from One Eyed Sprits and Tonxu from Noodelist join us to share their experiences and learnings on how to enter the US market and how to start a business in US as a Finn.
Don´t miss this great opportunity to ask questions from Jussi, Olli and Tonxu.
1-2-1 MEETINGS
There is an opportunity for participating companies to have individual meetings with Business Finland experts based on company need. Please indicate your interest for individual meeting when registering yourself to this event.
Agenda
16:00
Welcome words by Food from Finland
16:05
The importance of packaging and brand building
Jenny Gyllander, Founder, Thingtesting
16:45
Research report: Sustainability in food packaging in US
Mari Norrdal, COO & CoFounder, Aistila
17:00
Join chating with Jussi and Tonxu.
Great opportunity to ask questions and learn from their experiences.
Jussi Salonen, CCO, Goodio
Tonxu, Founder & CEO, Noodelist
17:30
Journey to US - Tom of Finland Organic Vodka
Olli Hietalahti, CEO, One Eyed Spirits
17:55
Food from Finland´s upcoming activities
18:00
Event ends
Speakers
JENNY GYLLANDER, Founder and CEO of Thingtesting
Jenny Gyllander is the Founder and CEO of Thingtesting, the independent brand discovery and review site where consumers can find and learn about new brands. Committed to transparency, Founder and CEO Jenny Gyllander has grown the site from a brand-spotting Instagram account to a go-to destination for online shoppers.
Prior to Thingtesting, Jenny worked at Backed VC, a London-based seed fund, and was the CMO of Slush, Europe's leading startup conference. Jenny is a Forbes 30 Under 30 alumni (2019), and has been recognized as one of the top 100 Nordic leading figures in tech (The Nordic Web).
www.thingtesting.com
MARI NORRDAL, CEO and co-founder of Aistila
AISTILA® is the leading developer of the ideal sensory experience. We carry out sensory-based consumer research and coaching, and utilize the global Mintel database in market surveys. Aistila works in close cooperation with the University of Turku.
www.aistila.fi
OLLI HIETALAHTI, CEO, One Eyed Spirits – CREATIVE SPIRITS INCUBATOR
Founded 2010 One Eyed Spirits creates and nurtures brand ideas and brings them to life. We love marrying spirits brands and pop culture, exploring and challenging category boundaries and conventions.
Tom of Finland Organic Vodka celebrates the life and art of Tom of Finland the pioneer and creator of contemporary gay culture.
It is an iconic, joyful and daring brand with a world-class liquid. Put a bottle on the table and you’ll be making a statement without saying a word.
Based on our ten-year journey as spirits entrepreneurs Hell or High Water Rum is a rum for those who laugh in the face of adversity. The hopelessly optimistic, the quietly confident whose spirit will triumph. It is a rum blended with persistence and determination, made smooth by the rough journey.
https://www.oneeyedspirits.com/
JUSSI SALONEN, CCO of Goodio
Jussi Salonen is the Chief Commercial Officer of Goodio, a Finnish craft chocolate brand. Jussi is heading their US operations and has expanded Goodio's distribution to 10 new international markets. In the US their biggest accounts are Whole Foods Market and Barnes & Nobles Booksellers.
https://goodiochocolate.com/
TONXU, Founder & CEO, Noodelist
A startup entrepreneur and a food enthusiast in a nutshell:
“Born in Vietnam, I don’t eat rice.
Raised in Finland, I don’t eat potatoes.
Based in Silicon Valley, I don’t eat burritos.
I live on noodles – I am the Noodelist!”
Tonxu got the idea about Noodelist in 2014 while she was doing her MBA in Luxury Brand Management in Shanghai. In 2019 she started a consumer packaged goods startup to create Instant Noodles 2.0. And in March 2020, she launched plant-based, better-for-you instant noodles, Noodelist. Prior to Noodelist, she worked for Business Finland and has been based in Silicon Valley since 2003.
www.noodelist.com
