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Coop Pank’s clientele include food supplement manufacturer VitaNor

Coop Pank continues to introduce its clients. Every client, be they an individual or a company, teaches us something new and interesting.

It is important for us to support local undertakings that create jobs outside major urban areas. Equipped with cutting-edge production technology, the VitaNor factory is one of those Coop Pank clients that inspires us on a daily basis.

What does the VitaNor factory do?
The VitaNor factory produces food supplements in Saaremaa. It is the first and most contemporary factory in Estonia that produces alfalfa extract, which is used as a food supplement or in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and agriculture industries.

What is alfalfa?
Alfalfa is a flowering herbaceous plant in the legume family, which is commonly known as the father of all foods. Alfalfa is valued for its high quality and yield; it can produce three crops in one growing season.

On 21 September, you opened a contemporary factory building in Metsküla in Saaremaa. When will the first batch of the finished product be ready?
The first batch of the finished product will be completed in Saaremaa this October or November.

When did the construction of the factory building start and who contributed?
The building was designed by architect Ülo-Tarmo Stöör from Öö-öö Arhitektid OÜ and built by Fortis Ehitus OÜ. The construction of the factory began in autumn 2018 and cost 1.5 million euros. In addition to private investors, the project was funded by the Rural Development Foundation, the Estonian Agricultural Registers and Information Board (ARIB) and Coop Pank.

Why did you start cooperating with Coop Pank?
In our opinion, Coop Pank is closely related to the country – country stores and shopping centres in Estonian rural municipalities and towns – and we thought that if we were going to establish a factory, it would have to be in the same clean country environment our raw materials come from. These plans ended up working best with Coop Pank because people living outside Tallinn need a bank, too, and Coop has been the most active in rural areas.

How big is your factory and how many employees do you have?
In addition to the production room, the newly completed building features technical and ancillary rooms (240 m2 in total) and a warehouse for drying and storing raw materials (384 m2). The first floor of the building is to be fitted with a workshop with overnight accommodation facilities. It will also feature a studio for organic plant producers interested in the field, which can be rented for meetings and discussions and where you can study both medicinal herbs and the plant extract production process in detail. The VitaNor factory in Saaremaa employs 10 people.

How much alfalfa extract can the VitaNor factory produce in a year?
The VitaNor factory is equipped with cutting-edge production technology and can annually produce up to 6000 kg of alfalfa extract, which is used as a food supplement or in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and agriculture industries.

Where will the products of the VitaNor factory go?
Products made in the factory from alfalfa extract are mainly exported to Nordic countries and Asia. U.S. organic retailers have also shown interest in the products.

Why should people use alfalfa extract and why is it so important?
Alfalfa extract contains minerals, vitamins and antioxidants that are essential for the human body and contribute to the normal functioning of the immune system. Daily use of alfalfa extract as a food supplement has a number of benefits. For instance, it helps to control cholesterol and blood sugar levels, provides energy and ensures vitality. As a result, alfalfa extract is becoming increasingly popular in both Estonia and elsewhere in the world. The fact that VitaNor grows its raw materials in the pristine nature of Saaremaa gives their products a significant competitive advantage.

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