On 27 April 2026, our Finnish region of VISION4FOOD held its first co-creation workshop in Oulu, Finland, bringing together 18 participants from public authorities, industry, academia and research, civil society organisations, producer groups and the Wellbeing Services County of North Ostrobothnia (Pohde). The session was organised by the Rural Women´s Advisory Centre (RWAC) and facilitated by Heini Iinatti.
The workshop started with a review of the challenges identified during earlier warm-up events, covering collaboration between developers and entrepreneurs, primary production, logistics, product development, sales, marketing and export. Participants broadly recognised these challenges and added several points: the need for long-term continuity so that good results do not disappear when development projects end, closer alignment between development work and entrepreneurs’ needs, stronger foresight capacity, and secure financing.
Participants then mapped the regional food system across seven dimensions, from growing and processing food to food waste, environmental impact and fairness. The most pressing issues were the profitability and image of primary production, the need to increase the degree of processing, and the difficulties producers face in reaching wholesale, retail, export and direct-sales customers. Strengths were also highlighted, including Finland’s strict food safety control, active redistribution of surplus food from shops to people in need, and the potential of food education for children, young people and families.
Five priority needs were selected: the profitability of primary production and further processing; the image and visibility of primary production and local food; a higher degree of processing and expanded production; better access to markets; and the same quality criteria for imported food as for domestic food.
Working in groups, participants turned these needs into concrete development ideas. Proposals included a joint regional brand (Arctic Food Lab), a one-stop product development model combining education, research and advisory services, a joint sales concept, B2B meetings between entrepreneurs, and better use of tourism and “reverse export”. To strengthen the image of northern food, participants suggested a joint communication campaign and a podcast or article series featuring company success stories, produced with the involvement of students. An EU-level initiative on regional food quality criteria was also proposed.
Looking ahead, the next session should address how the FIP network will divide its work and operate, and refine concrete development measures further. Reaching more entrepreneurs, whether at events or through surveys and interviews, was also identified as a key priority for the next session.
On site participants of the workshop 1