The new Arctic Africa brand will combine northern arctic and warm African flavors and is aiming to significantly increase ethical and equal cooperation between Finland and different African countries. The company is backed by well-known investors Saga Forss, Peter Vesterbacka, Pasi Joronen, and Kustaa Valtonen.
There is plenty of synergy between the companies as they have already been collaborating for four years. Now they are going global utilizing the strengths of both companies: high-quality handmade chocolate and arctic ingredients and flavors.
“In Finland, we need larger units in order to achieve internationalization. In this case, the merged company will be more than the sum of its parts,” says Saga Forss, an experienced food industry investor and board member of Finnish Business Angels Network FiBAN.
The company does not only aim for great cooperation but also to achieve a positive impact. The objective is to focus on the qualitative aspects of cocoa farming and the status of farmers. The company will also establish local chocolate factories in African countries and start a training program to increase knowledge of ingredients, chocolate processing, and production.
The company will use the Ambitious Africa project as a platform for developing sustainable business operations. One of the investors, Peter Vesterbacka, is an active participant in the project which highlights the significance of young people as change-makers by developing education and entrepreneurship, among other things.
Read the press release in Finnish here.
Read more about Ambitious Africa project here.
