Apetit, the Finland-based vegetable products supplier, has revealed that its chief executive officer Juha Vanhainen will step down from the role on 31 August.

He will be replaced by Esa Mäki, who moves to the position from local meat processor HKScan where he has been working since March 2019 in the position of EVP, meat balance & supply chain.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

Vanhainen will be available for special projects defined by the company’s board until 30 November.

He said: “The nearly five-year period as the CEO of Apetit has been challenging in many ways and at the same time a very interesting and motivating period. I am glad that we have taken the change through together with the great personnel of Apetit and have shaped the company as a clearly focused vegetable house. I will start a new phase in my career at the end of the year.”

Mäki, an experienced executive, said: “The common denominator [is] my new and previous duties is the Finnish food industry.”

He added: “The started development measures at Apetit, targeting to improve growth and profitability, will be a priority also in the future.”

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

In November Apetit sold a unit as the company sought to sharpen its focus on vegetable-focused businesses. In a stock exchange filing it said it would offload the remaining service sales operations in its food solutions business “gradually during early 2019”.

Apetit generated net sales of EUR283.1m in 2018, down from EUR311.8m a year earlier. Its operational EBIT turned negative, standing at a loss of EUR500,000, versus profit of EUR1.3m in 2017. Apetit made a net loss of EUR6.6m, against a net profit of EUR2.9m the previous year.

The company blamed “two consecutive exceptionally weak harvest seasons in Finland” for hitting its grain trade arm.