This article needs additional citations for verification .(August 2011) |
Company type | Government enterprise |
---|---|
Industry | Alcoholic beverages |
Founded | 1932 |
Headquarters | , |
Key people | Leena Laitinen (CEO) |
Products | Alcoholic beverages |
Revenue | €1,174.8 million (2017) |
Number of employees | 2,401 (2017) |
Website | www |
Alko Inc is the national alcoholic beverage retailing monopoly in Finland. It is the only store in the country which retails beer over 8% ABV, wine (except in vineyards) and spirits. [1] [2] Alcoholic beverages are also sold in licensed restaurants and bars but only for consumption on the premises.
Alko is required by law to sell drinks with lower alcohol content than 8% and non-alcoholic alternatives, but in practice carries a very limited stock of low alcohol beer, cider and non-alcoholic drinks and others as supermarkets are allowed to sell those at a substantially lower price. By law, alcoholic drinks may only be sold to those aged 18 or above.
As the only retailer of strong alcoholic beverages in Finland, Alko has an extensive range of products ranging from rare wines to bulk vodka. Its wine selection has grown in recent decades as there has been an increase in consumption and a government drive to change Finnish drinking habits to a more "European" style, which means a move from hard liquor to wine and beer. While wine consumption has increased, this has not replaced consumption of other alcoholic beverages, negating the "Europeanisation" argument.[ citation needed ] Nowadays wines occupy most of the shelf space in an Alko shop. Its beer selection is concentrated on stronger versions of the domestic bulk lagers and some high-quality strong beers from major beer-producing countries as well as traditional Sahti at some locations. Hard spirits include several Finnish brands of vodka and all major types of hard liquor. Alko also sells brands of drinks produced by the Finnish state-owned company Altia, which are traditional products and not sold abroad. Many of these date back to the first products launched after the end of prohibition in Finland. These are usually for mixing drinks.
In 2024, Alko's strongest selling liquor is a tar liquor called 762 Tumma, which, as the name suggests, has an alcohol content of 76.2%. [3]
Alko is a government-owned enterprise reporting to the Finnish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. As of December 2017 [update] , it has 368 stores and 143 order pick-up points throughout the country. [4] Alko shop locations have to be approved by National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Finnish abbreviation Valvira). Only once has an application for a new Alko shop been denied: in 2003, an application for a location in Koivukylä, Vantaa, was rebuffed because there was a kindergarten next to the planned location. Earlier shops were located separately from other retail outlets, but beginning in the 1990s a growing number of Alkos have appeared in malls and supermarkets, some even in gas stations. Under the Alcohol Act, Alkos cannot have a window display, so stores often have a display of wine glasses and catalogues.
Alko can advertise beverages that contain up to 22% alcohol. In practice, manufacturers or distributors, not Alko, advertise their products. There is a total ban on advertising beverages stronger than 22%.
On February 3, 2005, the Finnish Food Marketing Association (a pressure group of the country's supermarkets like K-Kauppa and S-Group) asked the European Union to challenge the legality of Alko's monopoly, which it disputes.
Products under 22% ABV can be purchased by individuals at least 18 years of age. The minimum age for products containing over 22% ABV is 20. When asked at checkout a customer must prove their age with an official ID (only a driver's licence, ID card or passport is accepted). Alcohol will not be sold to visibly intoxicated customers or when there is a reason to suspect misuse or illegal supply to a person who would not be authorized to buy. [5]
From 1919 to 1932, the distribution and consumption of alcoholic beverages was forbidden in Finland. [6] When the prohibition was lifted by the Finnish government in 1932 following a referendum, they created a company called Oy Alkoholiliike Ab which was fully owned by the government.
The first stores were opened on 5 April 1932. [7]
During the 1939–40 Winter War the company mass-produced molotov cocktails for the Finnish military, production totalling 450,000 units. [8]
Between 1944 and 1970, Alko used the Bratt System from Sweden to control alcohol consumption, using a booklet called viinakortti whereby all alcohol sales were recorded and stamped into said booklet. Once a certain amount of alcohol was purchased, the owner of said booklet had to wait until next month to buy more.
In 1969 the company's name was changed to Oy Alko Ab. This company not only distributed, but also imported and manufactured alcohol.
Between 1962 and 1998, Alko stores gradually switched from desk service (where customers asked shop attendants to retrieve products for them) to self-service. [9]
In 1995, when Finland joined the EU, the monopolies in production and import had to be lifted. Thus, the corporation was separated into Alko (distribution), Primalco (production of alcohol) and Havistra (bulk sales), which together formed the Altia Group; only Alko retained a monopoly.
In 1998, Alko was spun off entirely from the Altia Group, which was reorganized later to form Altia Oyj.[ citation needed ] While Altia Oyj and Alko remain legally separate, Alko is the major customer of Altia's products.
The history of Alko is presented at the Hotel and Restaurant Museum in Helsinki. [10]
From 10 June 2024, the maximum alcohol level which retailers could freely sell alcoholic beverages changed from 5.5% to 8% ABV. [11]
Low-alcohol beer is beer with little or no alcohol by volume that aims to reproduce the taste of beer while eliminating or reducing the inebriating effect, carbohydrates, and calories of regular alcoholic brews. Low-alcohol beers can come in different beer styles such as lagers, stouts, and ales. Low-alcohol beer is also known as light beer, non-alcoholic beer, small beer, small ale, or near-beer.
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage, transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic beverages. The word is also used to refer to a period of time during which such bans are enforced.
Systembolaget, colloquially known as systemet or bolaget, is a government-owned chain of liquor stores in Sweden. It is the only retail store allowed to sell alcoholic beverages that contain more than 3.5% alcohol by volume. Systembolaget acts as a portal for private companies selling alcohol on the Swedish market and as of 2023, it represents 1,200 vendors ranging from small local breweries to large scale importers and multinational companies, selling products from a total of over 5,000 producers from all over the world.
Liquor or distilled beverage is an alcoholic drink produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include spirit, spirituous liquor or hard liquor. While the word liquor ordinarily refers to distilled alcoholic spirits rather than beverages produced by fermentation alone, it can sometimes be used more broadly to refer to any alcoholic beverage.
A liquor store is a retail business that predominantly sells prepackaged alcoholic beverages, including liquors, wine or beer, usually intended to be consumed off the store's premises. Depending on region and local idiom, they may also be called an off-licence, off-sale, bottle shop, bottle store or, colloquially, bottle-o, liquor store or other similar terms. A very limited number of jurisdictions have an alcohol monopoly. In US states that are alcoholic beverage control (ABC) states, the term ABC store may be used.
Alcoholic beverage control states, generally called control states, less often ABC states, are 17 states in the United States that have state monopoly over the wholesaling or retailing of some or all categories of alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine, and distilled spirits.
Altia Oyj was a Finnish state-owned corporation based in Helsinki, which produces, imports, exports and markets alcoholic beverages. It operates in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Estonia and Latvia. Altia has production plants in Koskenkorva and Rajamäki in Finland and in Tabasalu in Estonia. Altia's strategy is based on two complementary cornerstones – building own brands and providing a leading Nordic and Baltic service platform for partners to develop their business. The largest imported brands are Drostdy-Hof, Two Oceans and Jack Daniel's.
The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, formerly the Washington State Liquor Control Board, is an administrative agency of the State of Washington. The Liquor and Cannabis Board is part of the executive branch and reports to the Governor. The board's primary function is the licensing of on and off premises establishments which sell any type of alcohol, and the enforcement and education of the state's alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis laws.
An alcohol-free or non-alcoholic drink, also known as a temperance drink, is a version of an alcoholic drink made without alcohol, or with the alcohol removed or reduced to almost zero. These may take the form of a non-alcoholic mixed drink or non-alcoholic beer, and are widely available where alcoholic drinks are sold.
A liquor license is a governmentally issued permit for businesses to sell, manufacture, store, or otherwise use alcoholic beverages.
An alcohol monopoly is a government monopoly on manufacturing and/or retailing of some or all alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine and spirits. It can be used as an alternative for total prohibition of alcohol. They exist in all Nordic countries except Denmark proper, and in all provinces and territories in Canada except Alberta. In the United States, there are some alcoholic beverage control states, where alcohol wholesale is controlled by a state government operation and retail sales are offered by either state or private retailers.
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The alcohol laws of Pennsylvania contain many peculiarities not found in other states, and are considered some of the strictest regulations in the United States.
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Alcohol laws are laws relating to manufacture, use, being under the influence of and sale of alcohol or alcoholic beverages. Common alcoholic beverages include beer, wine, (hard) cider, and distilled spirits. Definition of alcoholic beverage varies internationally, e.g., the United States defines an alcoholic beverage as "any beverage in liquid form which contains not less than one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume". Alcohol laws can restrict those who can produce alcohol, those who can buy it, when one can buy it, labelling and advertising, the types of alcoholic beverage that can be sold, where one can consume it, what activities are prohibited while intoxicated, and where one can buy it. In some cases, laws have even prohibited the use and sale of alcohol entirely.
Anora Group Plc is a Nordic distilled beverage and wine company. It was formed in 2021 as a result of the merger of Norway's Arcus Group and Finland's Altia Group. Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Anora has offices in each of the Nordic capital cities.