Saarioinen buys Poppamies as founder Marko Suksi stays on

Food company Saarioinen bought sauce brand Poppamies in 2025, while founder Marko Suksi remains its product development director, Yle reports. The sale price was not disclosed.

Other sellers included co-founder Jarkko Järvinen, events and marketing director Mika Lyly, chief executive Caj Sjöman and angel investor Petri Lehmuskoski. Tax records show that Suksi received 886,327 euros in capital income and 52,772 euros in earned income last year. He paid 312,539 euros in taxes.

Lehmuskoski also declined to say how much he made from the sale. He called Poppamies one of Finland’s top angel investments and said he had been closely involved in building the company.

Poppamies now operates as an independent unit under Saarioinen, with 14 salaried employees. Suksi said his daily work has changed little since the sale.

The company is expanding from sauces into ready meals. Saarioinen said the deal created new opportunities in product development, production and distribution, and would help it meet demand for strongly seasoned foods.

Suksi said Poppamies remains independent in its social media work. Saarioinen said it wants to preserve the brand’s bold and distinctive character. In one recent video, Suksi seasoned liver casserole with Poppamies products; he said Saarioinen had not known about the idea.

Poppamies began with plans to sell products through its own online shop rather than retailers, Suksi said. Growing demand eventually brought its sauces onto shop shelves. He said the company values experimentation and that he prefers receiving criticism to praise.