The demand for tofu has grown so much and so quickly that the manufacturer is having trouble keeping up.
Sales of tofu and other vegetable protein products have started to grow since the fall of last year. Adobe Stock / AOP
Kesko recently announced in its press release that sales of vegetable protein products that replace meat have started to grow after several years of decline. The popularity of plant proteins grew by more than 80 percent between 2018 and 2021, after which sales declined for several years.
In the fall of 2024, the sale of vegetable proteins started to grow again in Kesko’s grocery stores, and especially from the beginning of 2025, vegetable protein products ended up in the shopping carts of more and more people. During the year, sales of tofu have increased by as much as 20 percent compared to the previous year. Sales of canned beans, chickpeas and lentils have increased by almost 15 percent, and dry shelf soy proteins by 10 percent. There has also been an increase of more than 4 percent in the sales of meat-replacing plant proteins sold from the cold shelf.
Also in the S group, sales of plant protein products have increased in January–September 2025 this year as a whole by a few percent compared to the corresponding time of the previous year.
– The sales volume of tofu has increased by almost 20% in the S group this year, and the demand has occasionally been greater than the supply, says the sales manager Juhani Haara From the S group supermarket.
Tofu sold out
According to Iltalehti’s source, tofu has recently been temporarily out of store shelves. Kesko says that Jalotofu has had availability challenges from time to time, but for other tofus, availability has been normal. The S group is also told that the strong demand may have been reflected in individual stores as momentary product shortages.
CEO of Jalotofu Jouko Riihimäki confirms the information to Iltalehti. Riihimäki was contacted on a business trip from Japan and commented on the matter to Iltalehti by e-mail.
– Jalotofu’s availability challenges have primarily resulted from a faster-than-expected increase in demand, which we have not been able to adequately respond to. Sales have grown more strongly compared to previous years, and have temporarily exceeded our current production capacity. Growth does not come without pain, and we have had to think about our own operating methods and utilize more external expertise, especially on the equipment and project side.
Sales of dry shelf vegetable protein products such as dried beans and lentils have also increased. Adobe Stock / AOP
Health and responsibility in the background
Riihimäki believes that the growth in popularity of plant protein products is due to several different factors.
– The drivers of growth are above all the increase in the number of users, the increase in the number of new products, the diversification of food culture and new nutritional recommendations. Here are just a few drivers as an example.
According to Riihimäki’s view, Finnish consumers are pioneers in the use of tofu, both by Nordic and European standards.
Haara of the S group thinks that the background of the sales growth is also the consumers’ increased interest in a responsible diet.
“Consumers are increasingly looking for more responsible and healthier options for getting protein on their plate, and the new nutritional recommendations, among other things, have increased consumers’ awareness of plant-based options,” Haara says to Iltalehte.
We are on the same lines at Kesko.
– In addition to vegetable proteins, growth has also been seen in the sale of vegetables and fruits. In the background, the new national nutritional recommendations published at the end of last year may have an effect. On the other hand, new products of interest to customers have also been introduced into the selections, which have boosted the sale of plant proteins, said K-group’s director of merchandise trade and responsibility Harri Hovi In Kesko’s announcement.