Paulig

Overview

Paulig was founded on 25 September 1876 in Helsinki by Lübeck-born trader Gustav Wilhelm Paulig, who imported colonial goods (coffee, spices, salt, sugar, oils) and shifted 303,000 kilos of green coffee in his first year — about seven percent of Finland's total imports. In 1904 the firm opened the first industrial coffee roastery in the Nordic countries, in Helsinki's Katajanokka district, and remains 100% Paulig-family-owned today across multiple generations.

Known for

• First industrial coffee roastery in the Nordics (1904)
• Juhla Mokka and Presidentti — Finland's defining coffee blends since 1929
• Paula Girl mascot in Sääksmäki national costume — one of Finland's first brand icons
• Bertha Paulig — one of Finland's first female corporate leaders
• Date-stamped coffee packaging — a 1931 European first

Why it matters

The defining coffee company of Finland — the country with the world's highest per-capita coffee consumption — and a heritage Nordic food group whose Juhla Mokka and Presidentti blends still anchor Finnish coffee culture nearly a century after launch.

Production

destoning

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head roaster

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color sorting

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roaster machine

Modern automated roastery in Vuosaari (opened 2009; replaces 1968 Vuosaari plant inaugurated by President Urho Kekkonen)

filter equipment

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cupping frequency

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roastery location

Vuosaari, Helsinki (plus roasteries in Tver, Russia and Saue, Estonia)

espresso equipment

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annual volume tonnes

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Recognitions

• First industrial coffee roastery in the Nordic countries (1904)
• Paulig Coffee Institute (founded 1980)
• Pioneer Member SCA (formerly SCAE)

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulig
• https://www.paulig.com/en/company/paulig-history
• https://www.pauliggroup.com/what-we-do/family-owned-company-since-1876
• https://www.pauliggroup.com/1876-2026
• https://www.pauliggroup.com/sites/default/files/2019-08/Paulig%20history%20125%20EN.pdf
• https://foodchainmagazine.com/paulig/