Food Industry legal matters

Food Industry

We help companies in the food industry in both daily regulatory matters and projects aiming to change the competitive landscape.

The operating environment of food companies has diversified as quickly as the eating habits of consumers. Foods have become part of individual consumer lifestyles, which incorporate health awareness, environmental concerns and food trends. Supply is also diversifying: imports are on the rise, and traditional food companies are being joined by small, specialised companies as well as branches of large multinationals. The key to success amidst intensifying competition is a combination of efficiency, high-quality product development, a strong brand and pushing into new markets.

We handle mergers and acquisitions, agreements and competition law reviews in the food industry. We support exporters in brand management and innovators in product development and intellectual property matters.

Latest references

Lantmännen – Acquisition of Leipurin from Aspo

We advised Lantmännen ek för in its contemplated acquisition of Leipurin from Aspo Plc. Lantmännen is an agricultural cooperative and Northern Europe’s leader in agriculture, machinery, bioenergy and food products. Lantmännen is owned by 17,000 Swedish farmers and has 12,000 employees in over 20 countries. Leipurin is a leading Nordic supplier of bakery ingredients, equipment, and expert services to professional bakeries, confectioneries, and food manufacturers. The company operates across Finland, Sweden, and the Baltic countries with subsidiaries located in the aforementioned countries, providing comprehensive solutions to the baking industry. The closing of the transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals.

Foodiq – Restructuring proceedings

Castrén & Snellman’s Attorney Christer Svartström acted as the administrator in the restructuring proceedings of Foodiq Oy, which began on 11 March 2024. Foodiq is a unique future food focused company that develops and produces plant and milk-based products for both the private and public sectors. The company’s largest shareholder is a Swedish investment company focusing on FoodTec, Nicoya AB. The majority of creditors approved the draft restructuring programme in expedited proceedings after restructuring proceedings that lasted just under a year. The District Court of Helsinki affirmed the restructuring programme including the one-day payment programme on 10 March 2025 and appointed Attorney Christer Svartström as the supervisor of the programme. In cooperation with the parties, they found an effective and quick restructuring solution for the company, avoiding a long-term programme and allowing the company to focus on its core business. The restructuring programme was financed by investments made by the company’s investors. At the same time, the one-day programme provided a better outcome for creditors compared to a longer programme. The implementation of the restructuring programme ended successfully on 28 March 2025.

ONSE sport drink – Dispute concerning alleged trademark infringement

We successfully represented Onses Finland Oy before the Finnish Market Court in an exceptionally extensive dispute concerning alleged trademark infringement and unfair business practice. Our client, Onses Finland Oy, is a Finnish sports drink company and the owner of the sports drink brand ONSE. In the spring of 2023, the Polish beverage company OSHEE Polska Sp. z o.o. filed legal action against our client, alleging that the ONSE trademarks and product packaging infringed the OSHEE trademarks. The plaintiff’s secondary claims concerned alleged slavish imitation of the OSHEE sports drink packaging and exploitation of the reputation of the plaintiff. The plaintiff based its suit on registered trademarks as well as allegedly established and reputed figurative and three-dimensional trademarks. The Market Court rejected all of the plaintiff’s claims. The Market Court held that the marks invoked in the suit were neither established nor marks with a reputation in Finland. As regards the registered trademarks, the Market Court found that there was no likelihood of confusion between the OSHEE and ONSE trademarks. As to the secondary claims, the Market Court held that the sports drink packaging used by the plaintiff was a normal beverage bottle, the design of which was partly determined by functional factors. The Market Court also found that there were several blue sports drinks available on the market and that the plaintiff’s product was not the first blue sports drink on the market. The plaintiff failed to show that its product packaging was original or well-known to the average consumer at the time of the launch of our client’s ONSE sports drink product, and the Market Court thus rejected the claims on slavish imitation and exploitation of reputation. The Market Court ordered the plaintiff to pay all of our client’s legal costs with statutory interest. In its decision of 28 March 2025, the Supreme Court of Finland did not grant OSHEE Polska leave to appeal. Thus, the Market Court’s judgment (MAO:280/2024) is final.

Nokian Brewery – Listing on First North

We advised Nokian Brewery Plc in its listing on Nasdaq First North Growth Market Finland. Investor demand in the IPO, which consisted of a public and institutional offering, was very strong and the IPO was oversubscribed. Nokian Brewery raised gross proceeds of approximately EUR 10 million from the IPO. In the IPO subscriptions were received from more than 2,900 investors and as a result of IPO the number of shareholders in the company increased to more than 4,700 shareholders. The IPO gives us a strong platform for the next years of growth. We are grateful to investors for their confidence and excited about what we can achieve together. This is the beginning of a new chapter in the Nokian Brewery story. – Janne Paavola, CEO Trading in Nokian Brewery’s shares began on First North on 3 April 2025 with trading symbol BEER. Nokian Brewery is Finland’s second largest microbrewery and fifth largest brewery in terms of turnover in 2023. Nokian Brewery is particularly known for its Keisari beers. Nokian Panimo manufactures all its products at its production facility in Nokia, and in 2024 its sales volume totalled more than 8.3 million litres and turnover was EUR 11.9 million. Domesticity, responsibility and sustainable practices are at the heart of Nokian Brewery.

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