Deep Dive Valio Oivariini®: there’s treasure at the end of the rainbow

Valio Oivariini® is undergoing a major renewal. The first outputs appeared in autumn 2025 and early 2026, when Oivariini launched its first fully plant-based variant. The new advertising platform created for the brand is more human and more emotional than before.

When a brand’s history stretches back 40 years, you renew it with care and good taste.

“Rather than make radical changes of direction, we decided to develop the brand in a spirit of evolution,” says Mari Wardi, Marketing Manager at Valio. She has worked at Valio for 14 years, the last two of them on the Oivariini brand.

Oivariini is the market leader in spreads and plays a significant role in Valio’s business. In packaging design, it is important to remember that products in this category are bought quickly in store, without much deliberation. Recognisability must never suffer as the brand is renewed.

“When you are building a new brand, you certainly have more room to manoeuvre. As Oivariini’s design is renewed, we want shoppers to still recognise the product easily on the shelf.”

Oivariini is a breakfast-table classic that stirs strong emotional memories for Finns. Wardi stresses that Valio wanted to protect this proud history as the brand was brought up to date.

From practicality to feelings: Oivariini creates taste memories

Valio began work on a new brand strategy in 2024. The Oivariini brand had last been renewed in 2019, so it was a good moment to take a fresh look.

“In recent years, brand management at Valio has moved forward a lot, and we have taken a new approach to brand work. That too supported the case for an update,” Wardi says.

Oivariini was given a new, more human brand, designed to create an emotional connection with consumers.

“In the past we focused largely on the product’s functional qualities, such as Finnish butter and having no additives. This time we wanted to build the core of the brand on emotion: how it feels and what it means to people,” says Wardi.

Close collaboration with colleagues and the agency pays off

Renewing an iconic brand calls for careful groundwork and a broad team of experts and makers. Valio began the renewal with a thorough internal study: the team analysed the market, consumer trends, the competitive landscape and target groups. Then the SEK team came on board, and work on defining the brand strategy began.

“This work lays a strong foundation for everything that follows. We now have a clear picture of where we want to take the brand. That makes the work ahead easier,” Wardi says happily.

Precise results will come as the renewal progresses. Internal feedback and first reactions have been positive, though: the direction is clearly felt to be the right one. For Mari Wardi, the brand work has been not only professionally rewarding but also a great deal of fun.

“We have had a big project team, and we have done this with a great spirit. Alongside SEK’s large team, many people from our side have been involved at different stages: from the business, the Insight team, Design and the brand team. We have worked closely together.”