Aroma by VILJA Media 5 mindre

OUR STORY.

In November 2011, recipes are tested and plans are made in the old shop renovated into a bakery in Kvevlax. This is where Aroma begins.

The concept is small-scale artisan baking with focus on sourdough bread, buns baked with butter, and a small selection of cakes. On 13 December 2011, Saint Lucy’s Day, the doors of the new bakery open and the fragrance of freshly baked goods spreads.

Our first two years are spent building our customer base and starting up an entirely new bakery concept in the region. We sell at markets, pop-ups and join REKO Vaasa, where producers sell directly to customers.

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In 2014, one of our regulars nominates us to the TV show,  Finland’s Best Bakery. The competition is held in Finland for the first time, and after a great deal of hesitation we make a joint decision to enter. After the qualifying competitions we reach the finals in Helsinki and win the competition with our Finland cake!

The morning after the final episode has aired on TV, a long line is formed in front of the bakery. This continues for quite some time. Once we are back to our everyday routines, we discover that the most beautiful premises in Vaasa are vacant. As we open the door to the place on Hovioikeudenpuistikko, we realise that our concept will make a perfect fit! The premises have a long history, the floors are chequered in black and white, and the large windows provide the perfect space for Aroma to grow and evolve. In November 2015, Aroma opens its second establishment in Vaasa city centre.

 

In addition to our standard assortment, the bakery in Vaasa adds a lunch concept in August 2017, and we remodel the shop a second time in this short period.

In early 2018, we are contacted by a Stockholm-based real estate investment company looking for a café entrepreneur for the GW Galleria shopping centre in Kivihaka. We quickly decide that this would make the perfect complement to our main bakery in Koivulahti. We close the deal and eagerly begin to renovate for a café with 50 seats. The renovation runs smoothly and we open in April 2018.

In spring 2023, we are offered the opportunity to buy a small café right in the centre of Sepänkylä. We know the place from before and decide in just a few days: this is where Lilla Aroma is born! In autumn 2023 we open our fourth café!

We have baked, developed, tasted, and evaluated products as a team throughout the years. We have competed in artisan food competitions and won many prices that confirm we are on the right track.

At the beginning we were but a handful; now we employ bakers, confectioners, salespersons, cooks, students, marketing staff, and HR experts. Aroma currently employs an average of 30.

The icing on the cake is this: although the company has grown rapidly, the process and baking methods remain. Our seasonal thinking and the free, creative production run like a golden thread through Aroma. Together with our salespersons, we aim to always offer the customer an excellent experience.

Awards.

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