The tofu company from Malma has had its hands full before the Flow festival. 300 kilos of vegetable protein goes to Suvilahti from the small factory.
On Friday Ha Hoang plans to go to the Flow festival to enjoy the fruits of his labor. There, three food stalls sell tofu made by his company.
For the small tofu company Mama Mem’s operating in Malmi, the Flow weekend is the biggest event of the year. According to Hoang, about 300 kilograms of tofu travels from Malmi to Suvilahti – and probably a little more than that.
“Every single time, a customer calls on Saturday evening to say that we ran out of tofu, do you have more. 30–50 percent more than ordered goes, and we have prepared accordingly.”
Hoang recalls that this year’s Flow festivals are the fifth for which Mama Mem’s has prepared tofu. According to him, the demand has grown year by year.
The reason is probably that Flow emphasizes vegetarian and local food in its food offering. From 2022, red meat or poultry will no longer be served at the festival. Malmi’s organic tofu therefore meets the requirements.
That’s why the tofu factory has been in a hurry before the festival.
“This has been a bit of a sweat. Yes, we can be taken care of, but it just means that the employees work slightly longer shifts and we have to sort out the logistics in advance.”
Everything is ready for the Flow weekend, so the tofu machines will not be running on Friday. However, Hoang demonstrates their use.
Hoang estimates that during the Flow festivals restaurants consume as much tofu as restaurants normally need in a month. So you have to hurry.
“The most challenging time of the year is around the time of Flow.”
However, as the demand for Flow increases every year, the methods of operation have been refined in such a way that the rush can be dealt with. When orders often start arriving at the last drop, enough raw materials and materials are ready for production.
How about if demand for Flow-tofu continues to grow?
“I guess I’ll have to jump in to produce tofu,” laughs Hoang, who usually takes care of other tasks.
So it would be a long day, but they say that would be sorted out as well. Hoang thinks that if preparations are made in time, the current production facilities could produce three times more tofu for the festival than at present.
“It would be quite sweaty!”
Mama Mem’s was founded in 2016. Hoang then defected from his job as an energy technology researcher to become a tofu entrepreneur.
The change of field was pleasant, because the researcher’s work did not feel like his own. The company is named after Hoang’s mother, whose recipe also makes the tofu.
The first Flow tofus were already produced in the early years of the company.
“We are really grateful to be a part of Flow. Of course, it’s also good for our coffers.”
Hoang’s company is named after his mother.
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