– In international purchase negotiations, our partners include the largest food industry giants in the world, such as Nestlé, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Creating an alliance with one of the world’s largest retailers and our Nordic cooperative colleagues grants us more opportunities to deepen our collaboration with international food industry companies. In the end, the benefits can be seen as smaller food bills for Finnish co-op members, says Arttu Laine, Executive Vice President, who led the cooperation negotiations.

Previously in the spring, SOK announced its partnership with Carrefour regarding the international sourcing of private labels.

– This work is progressing at full speed. We are participating in purchasing Carrefour’s French, Italian and Spanish private labels – both food and consumer goods. In addition, we have achieved new efficiency in the manufacturing of private-label products, says Arttu Laine.

The new cooperation does not affect the supply or status of Finnish food in the cooperative group’s selection.

– We are continuously strengthening our selection of Finnish and local food, this is what our co-op members expect from us. Of the food we sell, 80% is made in Finland, and the same high level will remain in the future, states Laine.

S Group’s own private labels are Kotimaista, Rainbow and Xtra.

– The Kotimaista product line is a Finnish favourite. We will continue developing and expanding it also going forward.