Launch of the Finnish food tech success Chefstein in the Swedish Market
Climate-smart choice with Chefstein cuts the cost and reduces food waste with more than 20 percent
Sweden is a food tech leader in the Nordic region.
The company behind the SaaS solution Chefstein, the Finnish Fredman Group, is now establishing itself in the country. The company is primarily aiming for the fast & casual segment of restaurant chains with fixed offers such as hamburger chains, sushi bars, as well as hotel chains. Chefstein facilitates and streamlines routine work in professional kitchens and reduces food waste by at least 20 percent. In its home country Finland, Fredman is the market leader with almost 2,000 kitchens as customers in food tech, and with already existing clients in Sweden.
The digital kitchen management tool Chefstein helps to automate restaurant and commercial kitchens to monitor and optimize their processes and thus save time, energy, money, and guarantees a high level of hygiene, and reduces food waste by at least 20 percent.
“Chefstein has been successful in Finland. The chefs get more time to create fantastic dishes”, says Arto Mustikkaniemi, Chief Business Officer International, Fredman Group. Chefstein takes care of the many necessary and mandatory measurements that must be made in professional kitchens. The automated reporting increases safety, reduces food waste, and provides more space for chefs to focus on preparing tasty and nutritious meals.
Fredman has had a long experience in food tech before Chefstein, as it has worked within the segment since 2004. Thus, Fredman has been developing the optimal digital management tool for almost 20 years. Among other things, the Internet of Things, IoT, was already back in the beginning utilized with wireless sensors that guaranteed the right temperature for cooking, transport, and heating.
“With Chefstein, we help customers set up a monitoring (HACCP) plan which we then digitize. The principle is that cold is cold and hot is hot, that for example, the cold room (e.g., fridge or freezer) stays cold enough and the stored food stays safe. We have measuring tools to check that all surfaces are clean and that they get results within 20 seconds. The aim is to quickly detect and immediately
fix problems before they risk causing damage”, says Per-Henrik Hagberg, CEO of Fredman Group.
In the food industry, control is meticulous from raw material to manufacturing. But in quite several kitchens, everything could become manual again, even if the requirements are the same. Meat, for example, should be stored under the same conditions wherever you are to keep it fresh. Some food safety rules vary between countries and Fredman tailors the systems to each customer’s needs.
“There is a vast potential because Chefstein can be scaled up in the cloud, even if physical sensors and other accessories are also required for the automation of the tasks”, says Per-Henrik Hagberg. ”Sweden is a leader in food tech in the Nordics, but only few companies in the sector offer digitized processes and especially automation of recurring tasks for professional kitchens. With that said, there is room for us in Sweden. Our plan is to expand in the Nordic region, thereafter in Europe”.
In Sweden, primarily commercial restaurants and hotel chains, with the aim for standardized processes in their kitchens, constitute the primary targets for Chefstein. However, the solution, in the long run, has a lot to offer public institutions such as schools, healthcare, and elderly care.