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 1 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 most beloved Estonian 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 brought lactose-free milk to the Estonian market

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

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

2009 – Valio brand updated alongside the Valio Alma brand

2009 – 10% less plastic used to make the new Valio Eesti tubs, allowing the company to save approximately 13 tonnes of plastic packaging a year

2013 – Valio Forte Speciale, an Italian-style hard cheese, was awarded the title Best Dairy Product in Estonia

2014 – on 1 January, Valio Eesti AS and Võru Juust AS merged, operations continued as one company 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 Plant

2014 – in the beginning of September, a bottle line was opened in the Laeva Dairy of Valio Eesti AS allowing to bring the first Estonian local yoghurt shots in 100 g bottles and flavoured kefirs in 300 g take-away bottles to the market.

2015 – on 29 April, Valio Gefilus cappuccino kefir was named the Best Foodstuff in Estonia 2015 and worthy of a gold mark, and it was also named the Best Dairy Product 2015.

2015 – Valio Eesti Võru cheese plant underwent an audit of the prestigious international certification authority Bureau Veritas Certification and earned a certificate for food safety.

2016 – on 22 April, Valio Atleet Cheddar cheese was named the Best Dairy Product 2016. Alma kama quark cream and Alma mango-passion fruit yoghurt smoothie also received recognition.

2017 - Alma Russian DIP! sauce was named the Best Sauce Product 2017 in Estonia

2018 - Alma Greek DIP! sauce was named the Best Sauce Product 2018 in Estonia