The honey marinade developed by Vesa Saaremaa became a huge success.
Adobe Stock / AOP, Photos: Kariniemen
Exactly 30 years ago, in 1992, a new product arrived in Finnish food stores and quickly began to gain popularity. The chicken marinated strips of chicken were a novelty not seen before.
Today, Kariniemi’s honey marinated strips are sold in almost four million packages a year, in addition to which honey marinated chicken products can also be found under many other brands, such as Atria, Pirka and Kotimaista.
They are loved, they are hated, but one thing is certain: almost everyone has tasted them sometimes.
But who invented the original honey marinade and how? The man behind your favorite product is Vesa Saaremaawho was Kariniemi’s product group manager in the early 1990s.
– We lived in a recession, and we started to think about what kind of food that could be easily put on weekday evenings when it comes to work and tastes good even for children. It was the starting spark from which the idea began to be developed, Saarenmaa says.
The idea for honey came. It, like chicken meat, had a good and healthy reputation.
– The combination of honey and chicken was one that we thought was especially suitable for families with children.
From slow weekend food to fast everyday food
Until the late 80s, chicken was ingested as a frozen product that was first thawed and then seasoned. The chicken purchased on Friday provided food for Sunday. It was food that was liked but slow to prepare.
Pre-marinated strips suitable for everyday cooking changed the perception of chicken. It became everyday food.
In addition to honey-marinated strips, chicken strips marinated with garlic and mandarin were also launched at the same time. They also became popular, but not as big as honey marinated chicken.
– At the time, we couldn’t wait for any of these to blow up the bank, but that’s what happened. Alongside minced meat, there was another savior of everyday life, easy and good food for everyday life that everyone likes, Saarenmaa says.
The yellow color amazed
Initially, the yellowness of the honey marinated strips attracted attention. Saaremaa and its product development team foresaw it in advance.
– The minutes of the R&D team, registered on 19 December 1991, stated that the taste was correct, but that the color still needed to be changed. But then it was not started to change. Eventually, jaundice became a bit of a trademark.
By the early 90s, industrial marinades had been red and tasted the same regardless of the manufacturer. The yellow color and different taste were something new at the time.
– We received feedback about the yellowness that the cutting boards are ruined, but we told us how to get them clean and everyone was satisfied.
From demonstration to direct sale
The honey-marinated strips were presented for sale at Hotel Ellivuori on January 15, 1992 on a large platter, which Saaremaa still remembers. The reception was immediately good. It only took a couple of weeks and the new product was in stores.
– It didn’t take long for the beak to burn.
Over the years, the recipe for Kariniemi honey marinade has changed somewhat: the amount of salt has been drastically reduced and monosodium glutamate has been completely omitted from the recipe. Otherwise, the recipe has remained the same.
And there are enough buyers. Consumption of poultry meat has doubled in Finland in twenty years.
Poultry meat is eaten 27.5 kilograms per person per year. Bone-in meat is used as the calculation number. The actual amount of meat eaten is about half that.
The story was originally published on February 3, 2022.