Hankintatukku – high-quality supplements from Finland since 1982

Hankintatukku is one of the oldest manufacturers of supplements in Finland, founded in 1982. Hankintatukku began its operations by making selenium pills and the brand has been growing ever since. Nowadays Hankintatukku employs about 100 people. Hankintatukku’s own factory is located in Karkkila, a small town in Southern Finland, in which the popular supplements such as Evonia and Vitatabs are manufactured.

The story of Hankintatukku began with selenium pills

The production operations of Hankintatukku began in Espoo in 1982. Arno Latvus (MEc) and Aimo Niskanen (Professor of Veterinary Medicine) began their cooperation to manufacture selenium pills in the basement of Niskanen’s house. The leading duo was soon turned into a trio when Pekka Salovaara (Master of Forestry) joined the team.

The decision to build a real factory was made already in 1982. The first production unit was built in Karkkila and opened for operations in June 1983. Gradually Hankintatukku grew and new production facilities were built to meet the changing demands. A significant step was achieved when a pharmaceutical factory which enabled production that followed the GMP standards was completed in 1988. In 1993, Hankintatukku acquired full pharmaceutical manufacturing rights for solid and liquid products.

Hankintatukku exports their products to 40 countries

Hankintatukku is currently selling about 200 products in Finland. In addition to this, Hankintatukku has been exporting these products since the beginning of the 1990s. Today the company exports products to nearly 40 countries in different continents.

Responsibility covers all Hankintatukku’s operations

Responsibility is at the core of all operations at Hankintatukku. This means concrete actions every step of the way, from the responsible sourcing of ingredients to ensuring customer satisfaction. As a manufacturer of supplements, ensuring the quality and safety of the products through their whole lifecycle, from their research and development to manufacturing and use, is particularly important to us.

In addition to complying with legislation of our industry, responsibility also means following the principles of sustainable development in all our operations. The economic, social and environmental effects are taken into consideration in each activity in the value chain. We have also defined responsibility principles for our company which lay the general guidelines for our employees and our operations.

In order to develop our responsibility work and to follow up on our goals, we have composed a responsibility program based on Hankintatukku’s expectations and the megatrends of the operating environment. We have selected four important responsibility themes on which the program is based: we work for improving people’s health, we operate in an ecologically sustainable way, we take care of the wellbeing of our employees and we generate wellbeing in the society.

Innovative product development based on solid expertise

Willingness to renew ourselves constantly drives our operations. The product development of Hankintatukku is based on solid expertise in biochemistry and nutritional sciences as well as active operations. Hankintatukku develops high-quality, topical as well as nutritionally purposeful and balanced products together with best experts in the industry and by utilizing the latest scientific research.

The product development is led by a scientific advisory board whose members have doctoral degrees and represent the best in the fields of botany, pharmacy, medicine, chemistry and food technologies. The advisory board has been operating since 1984.

The factory’s own laboratories as well as external laboratories support the research and product development. In addition to our own process laboratory, we utilize microbiological and chemical laboratories accredited by the EU standards.

GMP product quality and safety practices are the basis of our production

The Hankintatukku factory follows the guidelines for pharmaceutical factories which define different production phases and the inspection system connected to them. The GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) is meant to ensure that the products are of high quality and safe to use. The quality and safety system of GMP covers all the operations in the factory, such as personal hygiene, the processing of the ingredients and all the separate production phases. Compliance with the GMP is supervised by the Finnish Medicines Agency (Fimea).

Clean zones, prohibited zones, separately ventilated production facilities and fully automated packaging lines are used in the factory in order to maintain a high level of hygiene. In addition, the production personnel are constantly trained to strengthen their skills. All the production operations occur in separate spaces in the factory in order to avoid contamination risks.
The production of supplements and natural products requires a precise and carefully supervised production process and high-quality machinery. Hankintatukku’s factory is equipped with modern pharmaceutical special machinery.

Constant quality control is an essential part of production

Quality control is an essential part of production. Quality control starts with inspecting the ingredients and continues with different phases of production, eventually resulting in ready-made products. Quality control is supervised by an independent quality control organization separate from the production organisation. The quality control organization is led by pharmacists.
Hankintatukku specializes in the production of various pills. We also manufacture hard capsules, extracts and other liquid products as well as cosmetics in the Karkkila factory. Our business is based on cost-effective and modern production facilities and skillful personnel.

Hankintatukku is known for their extensive selection

Hankintatukku has established itself as one of the most significant supplement manufacturers and marketers in Finland and we are known for our extensive selection. Our selection includes vitamins and minerals suitable for the whole family, phytotherapeutic products and cosmetics. Our brands are long-lasting: for example, we have been manufacturing the Piimax and Xylisweet Acerola products since the 1980s. Many families are familiar with the vitamins and minerals from the Vitatabs® product family as well as Magnesia magnesium products.

Hankintatukku has received many kinds of accolades:

Business awards:

• The former ministry of trade and industry of Finland awarded Hankintatukku Ltd for entrepreneurship, innovativeness and an interdisciplinary approach in 1988.
• Hankintatukku Ltd. was also awarded as the “Company of the year from Uusimaa with production activities in 2005”

Awards granted for products:

• Natural product of the year: Piimax (1989) and Fosfoser Memory (2002)
• Vuoden hoitotuotesarja Evoniat (v.2012) / Health product of the year: Evonia (2012)
• Sports nutrition supplement of the year Argisa (previously known as Argimax; 2017)