--- title: "Our heritage" date: 2023-09-04 author: "evermadeadm" featured_image: "https://www.valio.fi/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto/https://cdn-wp.valio.fi/valio-wp-network/sites/5/2023/09/1440x1080-product-front-hero.jpeg" --- # Our heritage ![](https://www.valio.fi/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto/https://cdn-wp.valio.fi/valio-wp-network/sites/5/2023/09/1440x1080-product-front-hero.jpeg)# OUR HERITAGE Our company is owned by Valio, an innovative dairy provider that began as a co-op of small family farms in Finland. As the world’s cleanest country, Finland is a place where the grass is green, the lakes are pristine, and where we tend to the world’s happiest cows. This makes for some of the purest milk on the planet, which is the secret to our delicious cheese and butter. ![](https://www.valio.fi/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto/https://cdn-wp.valio.fi/valio-wp-network/sites/5/2023/09/570x445-chess-square.jpeg)**1905** Valio is founded in Finland as a co-operative of small family-owned dairy farmers. **1945** A.I. Virtanen, Director of Valio Laboratory wins the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. **1950’s** Valio begins exporting Emmental/Swiss cheese to the United States as “Cheeses from Finland”. **Late 1970’s** The Finlandia brand is developed and marketed to the northeastern U.S. **1992** Valio acquires the Finlandia brand and increases distribution nationwide. **2014** Finlandia expands its product line to include additional cheese and imported butter. ![](https://www.valio.fi/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto/https://cdn-wp.valio.fi/valio-wp-network/sites/5/2023/09/570x445-chess-square-1.jpeg) ### WE HAVE BEEN CREATING DAIRY PRODUCTS FOR OVER A HUNDRED YEARS This content requires cookies. Change cookie settings The northernmost milk in the EU is produced in the Finnish Lapland above the Arctic Circle. This unique environment with its clean nature is also where the purest of milk comes from. This content requires cookies. Change cookie settings Nobel laureate Artturi Ilmari Virtanen, long-time Director of the Valio Laboratory and the inspiration behind Valio’s science-based research tradition. ## Learn more about Valio Group history Our history