Hätälä
Hätälä Oy is a Finnish family-owned fish processor founded in 1938, based in Oulu, producing fresh, cured, smoked, and ready-made fish products for Finnish grocery retail, horeca professional kitchens, and international markets in Germany, Sweden, and the UK.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1938
- HeadquartersOulu, Finland
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Hätälä does
Hätälä Oy is a Finnish family-owned fish processing company headquartered in Oulu, founded in 1938. The company specializes in producing and marketing fish products for both retail consumers and professional kitchens (horeca). Its core product portfolio spans fresh whole fish and fillets (salmon, rainbow trout, vendace, perch, pike, pike perch), traditional Finnish cured and smoked products (gravad salmon, cold-smoked salmon with alder wood, warm-smoked salmon and Arctic char, flame-grilled salmon), and ready-made convenience items (fish steaks, salmon balls, fish-vegetable nuggets, fish strips, and frozen products).
The underlying technology is rooted in traditional Finnish fish processing methods — gravad curing, cold-smoking, warm-smoking, and flame-grilling — combined with EU co-funded production automation equipment at the Oulu facility. Products are manufactured in Oulu from Nordic-farmed salmon and rainbow trout and Finnish wild-caught lake fish. The company holds the Oiva food safety certification and the Avainlippu (Key Flag) mark for Finnish origin.
Hätälä operates a hybrid B2B/B2C go-to-market: products are sold through Finnish grocery retail (service counters and packaged shelves), direct to horeca professional kitchens, and internationally via localized websites for Germany, Sweden, and the UK. Pricing is set by retailers rather than disclosed publicly. The company invests in content marketing (an extensive recipe and fish-handling library) and maintains a presence across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. Revenue is not publicly disclosed and the company remains privately held by the founding family with no disclosed funding rounds or institutional investors.
Hätälä firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Hätälä
- Legal name
- Hätälä Oy
- Website
- https://hatala.fi
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1938
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Hätälä Oy is a Finnish family-owned fish processor founded in 1938, based in Oulu, producing fresh, cured, smoked, and ready-made fish products for Finnish grocery retail, horeca professional kitchens, and international markets in Germany, Sweden, and the UK.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Hätälä industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Processed Seafood / Fish Products
- NAICS
- Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (3117), Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (311710), Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (31171)
- SIC
- Prepared Fresh Or Frozen Fish & Seafoods (2092)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Smoked, Cured & Salted Seafood (Lox, Kippers, Bacalao) (AFANADAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Shelf-Stable/Retort Prepared Meat & Seafood Meals (AFANAFAE), Value-Added Seafood Packaging (MAP/Vacuum, Portion Packs, Private Label) (AFANADAM)
Keywords
Where Hätälä is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Oulu
- HQ country
- Finland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Hätälä business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Fish product sales: Hätälä generates revenue through the sale of processed fish products including fresh fish, gravid salmon, cold-smoked and warm-smoked fish, smoked fish fillets, fish portions, fish balls, and nuggets. Products are sold through retail grocery stores and professional kitchen (horeca) channels.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Hätälä product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Hätälä produces and markets processed fish products — fresh fish, cured/gravad, cold-smoked, warm-smoked, and flame-grilled salmon and rainbow trout, plus Finnish lake fish — for both retail consumers and professional kitchens (horeca). Products are manufactured in Oulu from Nordic-farmed and Finnish wild-caught fish and sold under the Hätälä brand through grocery stores in Finland and selected international markets.
Product overview
Hätälä is a Finnish family-owned fish company based in Oulu, offering a comprehensive portfolio of fish and seafood products. The product range includes fresh whole fish and fillets (salmon, rainbow trout, domestic lake fish), processed products (cured/gravad, cold-smoked, warm-smoked, flame-grilled), and ready-made options (steaks, meatballs, nuggets). Key products include Lohifilee (salmon fillet), Kirjolohifilee (rainbow trout fillet), Graavilohisiivu (cured salmon), Kylmäsavulohisiivu (cold-smoked salmon), Savulohifilee (smoked salmon), Loimulohifilee (flame-grilled salmon), and various convenience products like Kalakasvisnugetti, Lohipyörykkä, and Pohjolan lohipihvi. The company also provides products for professional kitchens (horeca) and retail. Products carry the Avainlippu (Key Flag) mark for Finnish origin.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Hätälä: Primary brand for salmon and fish products
- Loimu BRGR
- Kipparin
- Pohjolan
- Onkimiehen
- NAUGHTY BRGR
Products and services
- Tuoreet kalat (Fresh Fish) Fresh whole fish and fillets including salmon, rainbow trout, vendace, perch, pike perch, and pike sourced from Finnish waters and Nordic farms.
- Graavatut (Cured / Gravad) Traditional salt-cured salmon and rainbow trout slices, ready to serve.
- Kylmäsavustetut (Cold-smoked) Cold-smoked salmon and rainbow trout slices prepared with authentic alder wood, ready to eat.
- Lämminsavustetut (Warm-smoked) Warm-smoked salmon, rainbow trout, whitefish, and Arctic char prepared with skill.
- Loimutetut (Flame-grilled) Flame-grilled salmon and rainbow trout with surface finished over open fire for authentic taste.
- Pihvit, pyörykät & nugetit (Fish steaks, meatballs & nuggets) Ready-made fish steaks, meatballs, and nuggets with high fish content for convenient family meals.
- Kalakasvisnugetti (Fish-vegetable nugget) Fish and vegetable nuggets, a convenient way to enjoy healthier fish snacks. Launched May 2026.
- Loimu BRGR (Flame-grilled salmon burger) Flame-grilled salmon burger steak, ready to eat warm. Seasonal summer product containing 97% salmon.
- Kipparin kalapyörykkä (Skipper's fish ball) Skipper's fish ball made from quality fish, convenient ready-made option.
- Lohipyörykkä (Salmon ball) Salmon balls made from quality salmon, available in 900g packaging.
- Pohjolan lohipihvi (Lapland salmon steak) Salmon steak from the Lapland region, convenient portion size.
- Onkimiehen kalapihvi (Fisherman's fish steak) Fish steak convenient for everyday cooking, ready to heat and serve.
- Pakastetut (Frozen Fish Products) Frozen fish products for extended shelf life and convenience.
- Suikaleet (Fish strips) Fish strips in various flavors including Original and Honey for convenient meal preparation.
- Lipeäkala (Traditional Finnish lye-cured cod) Traditional cured Baltic cod (lipeäkala), a Finnish Christmas tradition.
- Horeca Professional Kitchen Product Line Dedicated B2B product range supplying fresh fish, fillets, and prepared fish ingredients for restaurant, hotel, catering, and institutional food-service kitchens across Finland.
- Vähittäiskauppa (Retail Reseller Product Line) Dedicated B2B offering supplying consumer-packaged fish products and service-counter fish for grocery retailers in Finland.
Companies that use Hätälä
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Hätälä technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Hätälä partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- JärvikyläminorJärvikylä and Hätälä engaged in product development cooperation (tuotekehitysyhteistyö) to create delicious meals from fresh fish easily. This collaboration focuses on developing products that make it easy for consumers to prepare quality fish meals at home.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Hätälä competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- SalMar ASA: Norwegian salmon farming giant expanding into value-added processing and brand building in Europe. Compares to Hätälä on processed salmon SKUs and European retail presence, with far greater scale and vertical integration.
- Thai Union Group: Global seafood processor with major branded portfolios (Chicken of the Sea, John West, Petit Navire) across Europe, North America, and Asia. Relevant as a large-scale processed seafood peer, especially for Hätälä's ready-to-eat and packaged categories in export markets.
- Lerøy Seafood Group: Vertically integrated Norwegian salmon farmer and processor with a broad portfolio of fresh, smoked, and ready-to-eat salmon products sold across Europe. Comparable to Hätälä on smoked/specialty salmon SKUs and European retail distribution, but at vastly greater scale and with owned upstream supply.
- Princes Group: UK-headquartered branded and private-label seafood and ambient food group. Comparable on smoked salmon, canned fish, and ready-to-eat seafood sold to UK and European retailers—relevant given Hätälä's UK market presence.
- Mowi ASA: World's largest Atlantic salmon farmer, also a major processor of smoked salmon and value-added seafood. Overlaps with Hätälä in smoked salmon, cured salmon, and convenience salmon products sold to European retailers and foodservice.
- Clearwater Seafoods: Canadian shellfish and smoked seafood supplier with European retail presence, owned by a consortium including a major Fijian operator. Comparable on premium smoked and specialty seafood SKUs and on serving European retail/horeca customers.
- Saarioinen Oy: Large Finnish family-owned food manufacturer producing prepared foods and meal components for retail and horeca. Comparable as a Finnish B2B/B2C food processor with similar horeca and grocery go-to-market, though its core is meat/ready meals.
- HKScan Corporation: Nordic meat and prepared-food company with retail and horeca channels across Finland, Sweden, and the Baltics. Comparable on dual B2B/B2C food model, geographic overlap (especially Sweden), and branded convenience-meal strategy, though centered on meat rather than fish.
- Apetit Plc: Listed Finnish food company operating in frozen foods, vegetable oils, and seafood/plant proteins. Comparable as a Finnish branded food processor with overlapping retail and foodservice customers, though broader in scope.
Direct peers
- Kalaneuvos Oy: Finnish fish processing and wholesale company selling fresh and processed fish to retail and horeca in Finland. Directly comparable to Hätälä on product mix, customer segments, and Finnish market focus.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Hätälä social profiles
Digital presenceHätälä compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Hätälä financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Hätälä leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Hätälä funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Hätälä M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Hätälä
What does Hätälä do?
Hätälä produces and markets processed fish products — fresh fish, cured/gravad, cold-smoked, warm-smoked, and flame-grilled salmon and rainbow trout, plus Finnish lake fish — for both retail consumers and professional kitchens (horeca). Products are manufactured in Oulu from Nordic-farmed and Finnish wild-caught fish and sold under the Hätälä brand through grocery stores in Finland and selected international markets.
Is Hätälä a public or private company?
Hätälä is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Hätälä founded?
Hätälä was founded in 1938. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Hätälä based?
Hätälä is headquartered in Oulu, Finland, in the Europe region.
How does Hätälä make money?
One revenue line is on record: fish product sales.
Who are Hätälä's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are SalMar ASA, Thai Union Group, Lerøy Seafood Group, Princes Group, Mowi ASA, Clearwater Seafoods, Saarioinen Oy, HKScan Corporation and Apetit Plc. Kalaneuvos Oy is listed as a direct peer.
Does Hätälä have an API?
No public API is recorded for Hätälä.
What industry is Hätälä in?
Hätälä's product category is Processed Seafood / Fish Products. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFANADAF, Smoked, Cured & Salted Seafood (Lox, Kippers, Bacalao), with a secondary code of AFANAFAE, Shelf-Stable/Retort Prepared Meat & Seafood Meals. Its NAICS code is 3117 and its SIC code is 2092.