Kavli Group acquired Verso Food from Finland.

Kavli, a Bergen, Norway-headquartered food group, announced that it acquired the Finnish company Verso Food.

The financial details remained undisclosed. The Norwegians aim to strengthen their focus on plant-based foods as Verso has very quickly become a market leader in Finland with its Härkis brand, selling products based on fava beans.

Verso, founded in 2010 by Tarja Ollila, has developed its own patented technology based on the fava bean to produce vegetarian dishes which can replace ingredients such as mince, other meat products and chicken. Unlike soybeans and mycoprotein, fava beans are grown locally in the Nordic region, which means shorter transport and good accessibility.

Verso Food is based in Helsinki in Finland, employs 17 people and had a turnover of just over 6 million euro in 2018. It will open a new production facility in Kauhava in the spring of 2019.

The Kavli Group, led by CEO Erik Volden, had a turnover of nearly 350 million euro in 2018. The group employs more than 850 people and has companies in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Great Britain. The company is owned by the Norwegian Kavli Trust, which invests the surplus in charitable causes.