Educational Event Continues Momentum for U.S. Beef in Finland

As a part of the ongoing effort to promote U.S. beef in European markets with great potential, USMEF teamed with Swedish distributor Bergfalk AB for an educational presentation and tasting in Turku, Finland. Funding support was provided by the Beef Checkoff Program.

Tommi Lillrank, head of sales for Bergfalk Oy, details the attributes of U.S. beef at an educational presentation in Turku, Finland

More than 50 Bergfalk clients from across Finland participated at the Ruissalo Resort on the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia.

“While Bergfalk presented a wide assortment of its products, U.S. beef was specifically highlighted as the main beef item in the company’s portfolio,” said Yuri Barutkin, USMEF representative in the region. “That’s good news when it comes to educating potential customers on the quality and availability of U.S. beef.”

U.S. beef striploin and petite tender were featured in several dishes cooked by two well-known Swedish chefs – Johan Jureskog, owner of the AG restaurant in Stockholm, and Anders Dahlbom, a judge on the Masterchef television program in Sweden.

Participants in the educational event were provided with information on U.S. beef and sampled various dishes made with U.S. beef striploin and petite tender

According to Tommi Lillrank, head of sales for Bergfalk Oy – the Finnish subsidiary of Bergfalk – the event was a big success.

“We were put in contact with a lot of potential customers and the professional participation from USMEF was priceless,” he said. “We received great feedback from customers on U.S. beef. They appreciated the new information and the innovative ideas for cooking U.S. beef that were shared during the event.”

Barutkin said USMEF will continue to explore opportunities in the Finnish market with Bergfalk and other HRI distributors in the country.

“Our next big initiative will be to try to position U.S. beef products in some of the top retailers in Finland,” said Barutkin. “There have been attempts to place U.S. beef burgers and steaks at Stockmann retail stores in Helsinki, but we hope that the assortment of U.S. beef products at retail will increase. We are looking at portion control steaks, both prime and alternative cuts, and plan to offer a quality representation of U.S. beef premium burgers.”