History of Valio Eesti

1905 – Valio OY established in Finland

1968 – Võru Piimatoodete Kombinaat established

1992 – Dairy company Tapila AS, the predecessor of Valio Eesti, established in Laeva

1993 – Valio entered the Lithuanian market

1995 – On 1st of September, Laeva Dairy opened its doors in Laeva rural municipality, Tartu county, in cooperation with the Finnish dairy group Valio Oy and AS Tapila

1996 – Launch of the beloved dairy brand Alma

1999 – Valio Gefilus kefir, the first dairy product enriched with LGG® lactic acid bacteria, reached Estonian consumers

2002 – Valio entered the Latvian market

2002 – The first batch of Valio Forte cheese sent from Võru to mature in Italy

2004 – Valio acquired the majority ownership of Võru Juust from the Italian company Saviola

2006 – Joint company Valio Baltic AS established on the basis of AS Valio Eesti and AS Võru Juust

2007 – Valio lactose-free milk entered the Baltic market

2008 – Valio Forte cheese was on the official menu of the Beijing Olympic Games

2008 – Valio launched the first Kuninga Gouda cheese made in Estonia

2009 – Valio brand updated alongside the Valio Alma brand

2009 – 10% less plastic used for the packages, allowing to save ~13 tons of plastic packaging per year

2013 – Valio Forte Speciale, an Italian-style hard cheese, was named as the Best Dairy Product of 2013 in Estonia

2014 – On 1st of January, Valio Eesti AS and Võru Juust AS merged, and operations continued under the name Valio Eesti AS

2014 – In the first quarter, Valio Eesti AS opened the Forte warehouse and packaging line in the Võru Cheese factory

2014 – A bottle line was opened in the Laeva Dairy factory, allowing to bring yoghurt shots in 100 g bottles and flavored kefirs in 300 g take-away bottles to the market

2015 – Valio Gefilus cappuccino kefir was named as the Best Dairy Product and the Best Foodstuff of 2015 in Estonia, receiving a gold mark

2015 – Valio Eesti Võru Cheese factory underwent an audit of the prestigious international certification authority Bureau Veritas Certification and received a food safety certificate

2016 – Valio Atleet Cheddar cheese was named as the Best Dairy Product of 2016 in Estonia; recognition also received Alma kama quark cream and Alma mango-passion fruit yoghurt smoothie

2017 – Alma Russian DIP! sauce was named as the Best Sauce Product of 2017 in Estonia

2018 – Alma Greek DIP! sauce was named as the Best Sauce Product of 2018 in Estonia

2019 – Valio Võru Cheese factory received Halal certificate

2019 – Alma whole milk with floaty fat % became the most beloved Alma product in Latvian market

2019 – Alma Estonian DIP! sauce was named as the Best Sauce Product of 2019 in Estonia