PETLA

What PETLA does

PETLA is a Finnish potato research and advisory program founded in 1982 as Perunantutkimuslaitos and merged into Pyhäjärvi-instituuttisäätiö (Pyhäjärvi Institute Foundation) in 2025. It operates from the Räpi experimental farm in Köyliö, Säkylä, Finland, serving Finnish potato growers, the domestic potato processing industry, and farmer associations. Its core activities include applied field trials on cultivar performance, crop protection, and soil management; publication of the tri-annual trade magazine Tuottava Peruna (approximately 650 subscribers at €41.07 per year); free cultivation guides; weekly blight bulletins under the PERUSTA project (2026-2027) using an adapted Hutton Criteria prediction model; and commissioned research for agrochemical and starch-industry clients including Bayer, Syngenta, Yara, and Finnamyl.

The program monetizes through a mixed non-profit revenue model combining magazine subscriptions, commissioned agronomic research contracts with industry partners, EU rural development and Finnish Ministry of Agriculture (MMM) project grants, membership-style backing fees from farmer associations (MTK, SLC) and industry organizations (Jepuan Peruna, Lapuan Peruna), and municipal contributions from Kokemäki and Säkylä. Distribution spans a print magazine, the peruna.fi digital channel, social media, and direct farmer engagement via ProAgria advisory networks and research partnerships with Luke (Natural Resources Institute Finland) and the James Hutton Institute in Scotland for disease genotyping.

PETLA functions as a foundational — rather than commercial — pillar of the Finnish potato value chain, employing 1-10 staff including Director Leena Järvenpää (appointed April 2023), Research Specialist and Editor-in-Chief Viivi Hällfors, and Researcher Riina Lukkala. Its strategic role is knowledge intermediation: converting public research funding and industry-sponsored trials into actionable agronomic intelligence for a narrow domestic grower base. The organization is not a venture-scale enterprise; its growth ceiling is bounded by the structural size of the Finnish potato sector and its foundation-program mandate.

Name

PETLA

Legal name

PETLA-ohjelma / Pyhäjärvi-instituutti

Website

https://petla.fi/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PETLA is a Finnish non-profit potato research and advisory program (founded 1982, merged into Pyhäjärvi-instituuttisäätiö in 2025) operating from the Räpi experimental farm. It serves domestic potato growers, farmer associations, and agro-industry clients through field trials, the Tuottava Peruna trade magazine, cultivation guides, and blight bulletins.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ylistaro

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Publication subscriptions: Tuottava Peruna magazine is published three times per year with a subscription price of €41.07 (incl. VAT). The magazine is the primary communication channel for disseminating research findings to farmers and the potato sector.
2. Commissioned research and trial services: PETLA conducts commissioned research (tilaustutkimuksia) for crop protection companies, fertilizer companies, and potato industry businesses. Examples include blight control trials, fertilization trials, and variety trials commissioned by companies such as Bayer, Syngenta, Yara, Finnamyl, and others.
3. Project-based funding (EU and national): Research projects funded by EU rural development funds, MMM (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry), and Maakunta (Maker) provide operational funding for the program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

PETLA is a potato agronomy research and advisory program that conducts field experiments (variety, fertilization, and plant protection trials) at the Räpi experimental farm in Köyliö, Finland, and provides internal/external potato quality determination services. It disseminates research findings to Finnish potato farmers and industry companies through the Tuottava Peruna professional magazine, cultivation guides, weekly blight epidemic bulletins, field days, winter seminars, and commissioned trial services.

Product overview

PETLA is a comprehensive potato research and advisory program administered by the Pyhäjärvi-instituutti Foundation, operating from Räpi test farm in Köyliö, Säkylä, Finland. The program serves potato farmers and industry companies through an integrated portfolio of products and services including the Tuottava Peruna professional magazine (published three times yearly), field research trials at the Räpi facility, custom research services commissioned by agricultural companies, and extensive cultivation instruction resources. The program conducts research across potato varieties, fertilization, plant protection, cultivation techniques, quality assessment, and potato production economics. Weekly potato blight monitoring reports (Perunaruton viikkotiedote) and temperature/rainfall sum monitoring data support farmers' decision-making throughout the growing season.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tuottava Peruna (Professional Magazine) Independent Finnish professional magazine for potato farmers and the entire potato supply chain, published three times per year with a circulation of approximately 650 copies; annual subscription priced at €41.07 (incl. VAT).
• Field Trials and Research Services (Kenttäkokeet) Field experiments conducted at the Räpi experimental farm in Köyliö, Säkylä, including variety trials, fertilization studies, plant protection experiments, and custom research commissioned by companies such as Bayer, Syngenta, Yara, and Finnamyl.
• Potato Quality Determination Services (Perunan laadun määrityspalvelut)

Quantifiable outcome

• Weekly blight bulletins reach farmers across the hankealue (South Ostrobothnia, Ostrobothnia, North Finland, Southwest Finland)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Pyhäjärvi-instituutti (Pyhäjärvi Institute Foundation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025PETLA is a program of the Pyhäjärvi-instituutti. In 2025, the Perunantuotannon Tutkimus- ja Kehityssäätiö (Potato Production Research and Development Foundation) that previously maintained PETLA was merged into the Pyhäjärvi-instituuttisäätiö, making it the parent organization. The institute provides administrative, financial, and operational infrastructure for the program.
• Luonnonvarakeskus Luke (Natural Resources Institute Finland)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPETLA collaborates closely with Luke on joint research projects including the PERUSTA blight project (2026-2027), FOSFORIYRITYS phosphorus project (2024-2027), and numerous previous projects. Luke conducts fungicide efficacy testing and provides complementary research capacity.
• ProAgriacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPETLA works with ProAgria to develop and deliver advisory services to potato farmers. ProAgria's regional advisors use PETLA's research outputs in farmer consultations. Joint training and advisory events are organized.
• Maa- ja metsätaloustuottajain Keskusliitto MTK rycoreOthersMTK is a backing organization (taustayhteisö) of the PETLA program. MTK represents Finnish farmers and provides strategic support and funding for the program.
• Svenska Lantbruksproducenternas Centralförbund r.f (SLC)coreOthersSLC is a backing organization (taustayhteisö) of PETLA, representing Swedish-speaking farmers in Finland. Provides strategic support and funding for the program.
• Finnamyl OycoreOthersFinnamyl is a backing organization of PETLA. It is a starch potato processing company that participates in program governance and provides funding. Jyri Sirola from Finnamyl is mentioned in field day presentations.
• Jepuan Peruna Oy / Jeppo Potatis AbminorOthersJepuan Peruna Oy is a backing organization of PETLA. They operate a potato variety exhibition field with PETLA conducting yield and quality assessments.
• Lapuan Peruna OyminorOthersLapuan Peruna Oy is a backing organization of PETLA and has co-funded research projects such as soluneste (cell sap) fertilization trials.
• Säkylän kuntaminorOthersSäkylän kunta (municipality) began co-funding the PETLA program in 2026 as part of its food cluster development strategy.
• Kokemäen kaupunkiminorOthersKokemäki city began co-funding the PETLA program in 2026, viewing potato research as an economic policy investment in local farmers and businesses.
• Apetit OyminorOthersApetit operates shared facilities with PETLA at Räpi experimental farm in Köyliö. Gunta Cirule from Apetit is listed as a presenter at the 2026 Räpi field day. Apetit is a background organization of the former Perunantuotannon Tutkimus- ja Kehityssäätiö.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Arvalis: France's applied agricultural research institute for field crops including potatoes, cereals, and linseed. Arvalis is a near-perfect structural peer — farmer-funded applied research, variety and plant-protection trials, IPM advisory, technical publications, and commissioned B2B research for agro-input companies, operating as a non-profit under French farmer associations.
• NIAB: UK crop research organization conducting variety trials, agronomy research, and plant-science services. Like PETLA, NIAB provides independent applied research to farmers and the agricultural supply chain, runs field experimentation, and translates science into practical guidance for growers.
• Teagasc: Ireland's national agriculture and food development authority, providing research, advisory, and training to farmers. Teagasc's crop-research programs (including potatoes), farmer advisory services, and public-funded applied-research model closely mirror PETLA's Finnish institutional setup.
• SEGES Innovation: Denmark's agricultural research and innovation center, owned by Danish farmers, delivering applied research, crop trials, and digital advisory tools to farmers and industry. SEGES's farmer-funded applied-research model and crop-trial program are highly comparable to PETLA's structure.
• Wageningen University & Research, Plant Research: Dutch applied plant-science research arm conducting variety trials, plant protection research, and agronomy studies for arable and horticultural crops including potatoes. Wageningen's plant-research group overlaps with PETLA's variety/fertilization/plant-protection trial work and its commissioned B2B research model.
• AHDB (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board) Potatoes: UK statutory levy-funded body (now restructured) historically ran the most direct potato analogue to PETLA — variety trials, blight monitoring, storage research, and the 'Fight Against Blight' IPM bulletin service. The closest historical peer to PETLA's PERUSTA blight-forecasting and trial programs.
• ProAgria: Finnish agricultural advisory organization providing farmer-facing consulting, training, and applied-research dissemination. ProAgria is both PETLA's closest distribution partner and a direct peer in farmer advisory services, with regional advisors who translate PETLA research into farm-level recommendations.

Broad incumbents

• Luonnonvarakeskus (Luke): Finnish national natural resources institute conducting agricultural, forestry, and food research. Luke is both a partner (PERUSTA, FOSFORIYRITYS) and a broader incumbent — a publicly funded institute with a wider mandate that can substitute for or compete with PETLA's commissioned research and advisory work.

Emerging players

• James Hutton Institute: Scottish crop-science research institute specializing in plant pathology, soils, and barley/potato genetics. Hutton is a PETLA partner (provides genotype determinations for PERUSTA blight analysis) and a peer in late-blight research and IPM methodology, though at a different geographic and scientific scale.

Regional players

• Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU): Sweden's national agricultural research university conducting applied crop research, plant protection, and variety trials. SLU operates in a closely comparable Nordic regulatory and growing-conditions environment but serves the Swedish market rather than Finland, making it a regional rather than direct competitor to PETLA.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubevimeo.com/user8158169
• Facebookfacebook.com/perunantutkimuslaitos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/petlaohjelma
• Instagraminstagram.com/perunantutkimuslaitos

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PETLA