Dammenberg makes worry-free chocolate its mission

In Sääksjärvi, just south of Tampere, the smell of chocolate wafts gently through the breeze. It is here that Marko Iso-Kungas and his team hatch Dammenberg’s vast selection of allergy-free creations. Their hand-produced treats are sent across Finland and shipped to other corners of the globe.

“People can visit our factory outlet and in the summer and wintertime, there are many tourists here,” says Iso-Kungas, who has been working at Dammenberg for 21 of its 30 years in business. Iso-Kungas took charge of the company in 2003 with his wife Kirsi, who works in the hospitality industry but continues to lend a helping hand with ideas. The institution was founded in Tampere and moved to its current manufacturing headquarters in 2008.

As a diabetes sufferer, Iso-Kungas set out to make chocolate that could fit with his diet, providing him with a worry-free alternative. Dammenberg states that it was Europe’s first chocolate manufacturer to have a factory focused exclusively on organic, fair trade, nut-free, gluten-free, egg-free, soy-free, GMO-free and kosher-certified products. The company also offers dairy-free, vegan and sugar-free products, as well as chocolates that are Halal-certified.

The production team is ten-strong at Christmas time and five-strong in summer. Chocolate master Iso-Kungas has a background in food technology and engineering. He points to a black machine on the factory floor that allows cocoa beans to be roasted in-house, a process Dammenberg started in 2017. The beans have been sourced from small farmers in Peru, part of Dammenberg’s drive to ensure that product quality and purity are prioritised over price. Iso-Kungas also roasts coffee beans, though this is more a hobby than a business initiative.

Chocolate master Marko Iso-Kungas gets involved in the production process.

Iso-Kungas says his company’s Moomin chocolates are a particularly popular product line. To celebrate its 30th anniversary, the company has developed a brand-new line of treats., featuring an array of organic chocolates with no added sugar or artificial sweeteners.

The creations are exported to Germany, France, Portugal and Sweden. There, they go on sale in cafés and retail stores. Dammenberg’s delicacies are also available to buyers in countless other countries via an online shop.

Web: www.dammenberg.fi/en