The fresh Sales Manager of BlackGrain from Yellow Fields™, Maria Soini, says that Apetit’s new product suits her background and values. As rapeseed powder, BlackGrain is not only sustainable but also naturally nutritious. In addition to an inspiring domain, Soini is happy about being welcome at Apetit and expresses that her stepping in during the spring of 2024 after parental leave has panned out smoothly.
Maria Soini has a Master of Food Science majoring in food economics. She has an interesting and diverse background that relates to the food industry from various points of view. Previously, she worked at Gold&Green Foods in varied commercial tasks, concentrating on clientele and growing sales of Pulled Oats. Before that, she operated at Ruokakesko.
– I led a concept development team for fruits, vegetables, and flowers. This was a very versatile and extensive sales development task, and I worked with many different people and organizations, gaining valuable experience and insight into the field.
Food industry becomes a calling
Soini ended up in the food industry due to a series of coincidences and passion. After high school, she applied to university, pondering what she would eventually orient towards. However, an outline of a path started to emerge fairly quickly as Soini began approaching the food industry from two sides. At the university, she started out studying food chemistry and microbiology and, at the same time, worked in a grocery store next to the institution. Both engagements ended up working as a sort of signpost.
– I began to take on more responsibility within the department, particularly by stepping in for the head of the department during the holiday seasons. This involved tasks such as placing material orders. At the store, I became increasingly interested in how retail sales and profitability are developed. All this led me to change my university major and focus more on the commercial side.
Work experience gained while studying led Soini to Ruokakesko, a now embedded subsidiary of the Finnish retailing conglomerate, opening a new chapter in her career story.
– It deepened my idea of how wonderful it is to work with healthy products—the kinds that are easy to get behind and that feel like my own. Fruits and vegetables do good to everyone, and it felt great to grow their sales and, of course, the Pulled Oats afterwards. This is all sustainable food that is better for the planet’s and people’s well-being. These factors have always influenced my career choices.
BlackGrain by Apetit and a sustainability-oriented grower of sales make a great match
During parental leave, Soini needed to consider what was next for her professionally. Through a friend, she heard about an opening at Apetit with her background. As Soini began conversations with Jenny Tallberg, a Business Development Manager at Apetit, the perception solidified in both parties.
– At Apetit, everything starts with a steadfast desire to base business on plant-based products. It felt very much like my kind of thing. When I learned more about BlackGrain and began to understand its possibilities, I couldn’t help but get excited. Another side of it is that Apetit is a well-known Finnish company that I have heard good things about and have had good experiences working with their products.
Soini’s pre-existing perception of Apetit as a great place to work has been confirmed firsthand.
– I’ve had a great reception, and people are so nice that it feels like I’ve known them longer. It’s been easy to ask anything and to book orientations and discussions. Everything is running at a good pace.
Soini describes herself as very solution-oriented with customers and has worked with a variety of them, ranging from retailers and retail buyers to industrial organisations in Finland and internationally. According to her, to be able to offer the customers a truly suitable ingredient, one needs to understand the market and its happenings down to the needs and desires of the consumer level.
– This guides us in offering our customers the correct support they need to meet these demands. Experience with the same type of product and product category is a good base for this as well.
Making the selecting of a sustainable ingredient easier than ever with BlackGrain
To Soini, working with BlackGrain means getting to be involved in creating something new internally but also through the launch of a new type of product. She recognizes the challenge in this but approaches it optimistically.
– Offering new alternatives to plant-based protein sources means dealing with a market of fierce competition and consumers whose requirements and expectations are precise. On the other hand, we can provide the market with a new type of raw material that enables us to further improve existing products and create very new types of plant-based products that are even better than before.
– All this while improving nutritional value in a tasty and sustainable way, Soini summarises.
Similar standpoints
Maria Soini spends a lot of time with her husband and their two small children. She recognizes this as a stage in her life she wishes to embrace, which, in part, emphasizes a certain need to be efficient.
I like to get work done on time, so I also have time for the family and to handle certain household chores. I also try to take care of my fitness. A good positive spirit at home and work requires taking care of oneself. I do yoga, for example, and I meet many friends, too.
Concentrating on the good things at hand while looking up the road is a viewpoint not much different than how the fresh Sales Manager of BlackGrain sees Apetit’s stance.
– We have a great spirit of doing things and a long-run mindset. We concentrate on taking care of what we do well but also consider where we are going.