Elovena

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A packet of Elovena oat flakes, from 2016 when the sickle on the packaging had already been removed. Elovena.jpg
A packet of Elovena oat flakes, from 2016 when the sickle on the packaging had already been removed.

Elovena is a Finnish food brand by the Raisio Group. The Elovena product line includes oat flakes and other cereal products. In 2020 the product line included prepackaged porridges, flakes, bran and germ, vegetable protein products, snack drinks and cookies as well as breakfast cereal. There are over 60 products in total.

Contents

The brand is known from the romantic nationalist image on the packaging, the so-called Elovena girl. The image features a blonde-haired, young woman in a traditional Finnish dress and scarf standing on a grain field holding a bunch of oats.

History

Elovena was born in Vyborg, at the company Karjalan mylly OY in 1925. The name of the brand came from the company's previous name Myllyosakeyhtiö Elo and the binomial name of oat, Avena sativa. The original artist of the Elovena girl standing on a grain field was Joel Räsänen (1905-1978) from Tienhaara in Vyborg, who was the son of a mill machinery operator. His drawing won an advertisement contest organised by Karjalan mylly, which was held to select an image for a package containing "extra premium" steamed Elovena oat flakes.

Production of Elovena was originally started by the architect and businessman Edoard Mielck from Vyborg, but his partners stole the idea from him and started to produce it in their mill. [1]

The oat in Elovena products comes from the Raisio Group's companion farmers at a radius of about a hundred kilometres from the Nokia mill. Elovena flakes have been produced in Nokia since 1990, when Melia was founded. [2]

Elovena Puurobaari was founded in summer 2014. The idea of the marketing campaign was to uphold the porridge culture by renovating the traditional porridge and by utilising current trends by serving it from a food truck. [3] [4]

The Raisio Group has been closely guarding the Elovena brand. In 2006, a Hufvudstadsbladet advertising campaign featuring black woman posing on a field in a Finnish national dress was cancelled on the Raisio Group's request. [5] The artist Jani Leinonen parodied the Elovena girl in present-day Finland. The Raisio Group wrote a letter to Leinonen. [6]

Elovena Muru Kaurajauhis is a ready-cooked vegetable protein product produced by the Raisio Group, made from Elovena full grain oats grown on Finnish fields, oat bran, water, salt and potato and pea protein. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Marketing and advertising

Elovena won the Porridge of the year 2011 award at the Lahti Harvest Festival in October 2011. [12]

According to Taloustutkimus, Elovena has been one of the most popular food brands in Finland. [13] Elovena was also one of the three most responsible brands according to the Sustainable Brand Index survey conducted of Finnish consumers. [14]

In 2013 Elovena received the annual Brand Setter of the Year from the Finnish Advertising Union. Every year, the Brand Setter of the Year award is given to a member company of the Finnish Advertising Union, which has been exemplary in its marketing. According to the Finnish Advertising Union, Elovena is a brand that depicts Finnishness in a traditional way. Finns most prominently associate the Elovena brand with images of health, trustworthiness and naturalness. According to the panel, familiar, easily recognisable elements of the Elovena brand include the logo as well as colours and themes appearing in the marketing and packaging, such as the Elovena girl and bundles of oats. The appearance has been upgraded throughout the years. [15]

In a renovation in 2017, the grain field was removed from the background of the Elovena girl. The sickle in the girl's hand had already been removed. Different outfits were tested in 2017, but three quarters of Finns thought the national costume was the only right outfit for the Elovena girl. [16] The entire brand underwent a renovation in 2020, when the traditional Finnish costume was removed. This renovation was done by the brand agency Bond Agency. The reason for the renovation was better compliance to international use. The Raisio Group attempted to improve their international sales of oats. [17] [18]

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The oat, sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name. Oats are used for human consumption as oatmeal, including as steel cut oats or rolled oats. Oats are a nutrient-rich food associated with lower blood cholesterol and reduced risk of human heart disease when consumed regularly. One of the most common uses of oats is as livestock feed.

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References

  1. ↑ Floman, Per Erik: Ernst Mielck, Viborgs Nyheter, p. 5.
  2. ↑ Kossu ja tusina muuta tapaa tuunata kaurapuuroa Archived 17 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine , Aamulehti . Accessed on 31 July 2015.
  3. ↑ Aamupuuron voi ostaa auton tiskiltä Helsingissä – puurotrendiä kammetaan Suomeen, Helsingin Sanomat . Accessed on 31 July 2015.
  4. ↑ Kotimainen kaurapuuro taipuu trendiruoaksi, Iltalehti . Accessed on 31 July 2015.
  5. ↑ "Raisio uskoi rasisteja | Kauppalehti" . Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  6. ↑ Näpit irti tavaramerkistäni!, Kauppalehti 2015. Accessed on 26 August 2016.
  7. ↑ Vihdoinkin kasviproteiini, joka maistuu kaikille Archived 15 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine , Muru. Accessed on 1 November 2018.
  8. ↑ Vilen, Janica: Vegaaneille hyviä uutisia Raisiosta: Elovena Muru Kaurajauhis on nyt lanseerattu, Turun Seutusanomat 30 August 2018. Accessed on 1 November 2018.
  9. ↑ Raisio pyrkii kauralla jauhelihamarkkinoille Archived 15 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine , Turun Sanomat . Accessed on 1 November 2018.
  10. ↑ Elovena Muru Kaurajauhis on Raision uusin innovaatio Archived 15 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine , Raisio. Accessed on 2 November 2018.
  11. ↑ Muru Kaurajauhis, Elovena. Accessed on 2 November 2018.
  12. ↑ Vuoden 2011 puuro tulee Raisiosta, Etelä-Suomen Sanomat 1 October 2011. Accessed on 6 April 2014.
  13. ↑ Elovena muutti peltipurkkiin, Markkinointi & Mainonta . Accessed on 25 January 2017.
  14. ↑ Valio, S-market ja Elovena on suomalaisten mielissä vastuullisimmat brändit Archived 6 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine , Turun Sanomat 24 March 2020. Accessed on 30 April 2020.
  15. ↑ Vuoden Brändinrakentaja on Elovena, Markkinointi & Mainonta . Accessed on 31 July 2015.
  16. ↑ Paljakka, Eeva: Tiedätkö. mistä Elovena on saanut nimensä?, Iltalehti . Accessed on 15 January 2020.
  17. ↑ Elovena-tyttö luopuu jo 95 vuotta käyttämästään kansallispuvusta ja alkaa edustaa myös ulkomailla, Kauppalehti 15 January 2020. Accessed on 24 June 2022.
  18. ↑ "Elovena-tyttö luopuu kansallispuvusta – alkaa edustaa myös ulkomailla". 29 August 2023.
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