Restaurants|According to restaurateurs, the vegetable exchange was an exceptionally well-serving wholesaler whose importance was greater than just vegetables.
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Helsinki Wholesaler Vehannespörssi was declared bankrupt.
The vegetable exchange runs down its inventory and minimizes raw materials that go to waste.
In the restaurant industry, the bankruptcy of Vihannespörssi is a big loss, because they were an important player.
Prolonged Wholesaler from Helsinki The vegetable exchange was declared bankrupt this week. The restaurant industry tells HS that even though other wholesalers deliver vegetables, the emotional loss is huge.
The vegetable exchange said on Thursday that it will run down its inventory and minimize raw materials that go to waste in the next two weeks. In its announcement, the company apologized for the worry and trouble it had caused.
HS tried to get the CEO Kaj Vuorion for an interview on Friday, but he could not be reached.
At the vegetable exchange has offices in Helsinki and Turku, but they also deliver their fresh products to other parts of Finland. The first office was opened in Helsinki’s Sörnäis in 1995.
“Yes, it will be visible in the industry quite a lot. It wasn’t really a convenience store, but a big player,” says the restaurateur and top chef Henri Alen.
The bankruptcy of the vegetable exchange is a great shame, because according to Alén, it was like a good friend to the restaurateur.
“They were an important player in the raffles industry and more than a corporation. They have helped quite a lot of young restaurateurs and always got involved in charity events. If there have been any payment time problems, they have been flexible.“
The level of service was also exceptionally hard, says Helsinki-based Gastro Cafe Kallion Julia Juvonen.
“Products could be ordered in the middle of the night and delivered the next day. I don’t know who could do the same,” Juvonen describes.
Special ones According to Alén, there were no signs of bankruptcy. According to him, the Corona period was “hell hard” for wholesalers. The restaurants had to close as a result of the restrictions, and the lion’s share of the wholesale turnover that was delivered to them was lost.
“Perhaps there was a little pain in the voice when we talked, but it was the same thing with every supplier. Harda comes through the back door with a box and says it’s going really well,” Alén describes.
According to Julia Juvonen, Vihannespörssi’s selection recently started to have small deficiencies in basic supplies that would normally have been easily obtained. It has reached his ears that the debt amounts that led to the bankruptcy would not have been very large.
“Wouldn’t it have been worthwhile for them to apply for restructuring too, when they had such a long career behind them? Of course, I don’t know if that would have been possible,” Juvonen reflects.
Vegetable exchange trucks have been a familiar sight in Helsinki’s street scene. According to Alén, the wholesaler was a pioneer in, for example, the sale of pre-cut fresh produce.
Down recalls that Vuorio started his career in the restaurant industry as a potato peeler.
“He himself has also hired people to work who may not get paid easily.”
HS interviewed Kaj Vuorio in 2020, when he told of his turbulent youth. Vuorio’s road from Vallila, who moved from the country to Helsinki, took him to Katajanoka prison straight from primary school.
Running the vegetable exchange drove CEO Vuorio to burnout, which he found relief from intoxicants. In 2011, the drug cycle escalated into charges and a prison sentence of more than four years for, among other things, a serious drug crime.
After his second trip to the castle, Vuorio returned to Vihannespörssi and began to renew his company. He is obviously a well-liked character despite his past.
“When he was under the rock, the loyal staff took care of things well. I really like Kaitsu as a person. Whatever the history, he has always been really helpful and kind to me,” Alén says.
The vegetable exchange According to Alén, the bankruptcy may reflect the current state of the restaurant industry, where some are doing really well and others are doing really badly. In the next few years, he has noticed a phenomenon in wholesale operations where larger, foreign operators have bought smaller wholesalers operating in the sector.
“The small ones are snapped off and the big ones are booming. If we speak directly, then the service has often changed from personal to more technical. A good bond with the supplier would be important in order to know exactly what to get and when,” sums up Alén.
The vegetable market was particularly important to Gastro Cafe Kallio, as the restaurant is a small operator whose menus change frequently. According to Juvonen, the wholesaler could find seasonal products in their selection for them, such as mushrooms in the spring.
“We have to start finding out what other options there are. Bigger companies are usually automatically worse in terms of service, although Vihannespörssi was an exception.”
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