Those travelling from Tallinn to Pärnu or the islands know well where to turn at Ääsmäe to reach their destination. Fewer people know that near this crossroads, in the middle of the fields, stands the successful snack producer Balsnack’s factory, a company with an annual turnover of €10 million and exports to 60 countries.

“When school finished at Ääsmäe, children would come to the factory to see their mum, as all the doors were open back then. They’d sit by the production line, doing homework with one hand and grabbing potato crisps with the other,” recalls Reigo Rusing, development manager of Balsnack, who reached the top five exporters in this year’s Entrepreneurship Award competition. He laughs as he reminisces about the company’s early years.

Today, entry into the factory and food safety controls are vastly different and strictly enforced. The factory is secured by a closed iron gate, accessible only with a card, so visitors cannot simply walk in. The next step is digital registration at the factory office, including name and ID code, so the Agriculture and Food Board can later verify who was in the factory, how long they were there, and where they moved around. Surveillance cameras cover the entire factory for added security.

“There is no joking around with food safety; we’re checked thoroughly and regularly,” Rusing states. “Without a valid food safety certificate, no sales would occur in Estonia or abroad.”

Visitors must be dressed up and wear shoe covers, coats, gloves, and a protective hat; a mask must also cover beards. But that’s not all—hands must be adequately sanitised before the factory tour.

Balsnack – a snack lover’s paradise

Once all safety protocols are met, a delightful scene unfolds in the production area: one line produces cheese-onion and garlic bread, another rolls out potato wafers, and along the walls are massive bags filled with well-known snacks like popcorn, kama balls, pirate crisps, and corn sticks. It’s a true snack lover’s paradise.

“Eventually, I sold my company and invested all my capital here. This digitalisation and IT in the middle of cabbage fields is ten times more exciting than I used to think.”
Reigo Rusing, development manager of Balsnack

“This building was constructed in the 80s when the factory dealt with freezing and selling berries. Eventually, that line of business was abandoned, and a new direction was chosen,” explains the development manager, leading the way to the raw materials warehouse. Here, shelves packed to the ceiling hold spices, packaging, oils, bread crumbs, and more.

Balsnack sources most raw materials from Estonia. “As much as we can, we buy local flour, rapeseed oil, and bread, and we also collaborate with local farmers,” Rusing lists.

Potato flakes, however, can’t be sourced locally. “They aren’t produced here in such quantities, and the quality must always be stable—not necessarily high or low, but stable, so the snack remains consistent for consumers. Our potato flakes come from Poland, where the factory is about the size of Paide city,” Rusing notes.

Asked about the difference between crisps and snacks, Rusing explains: “The difference is that crisps are made from raw potatoes, sliced and fried for 4–6 minutes until the water evaporates, making them crispy. On the other hand, snacks are made from macaroni-like dough composed of two to four ingredients, such as potato mass, and are fried for only a few seconds.”

“All genuinely harmful substances we consume daily develop during long frying processes. The advantage of snacks is that they contain 30-35% less fat than crisps, so it’s generally better to choose snacks with lower fat and less frying,” he adds.

“In Estonia, however, crisps are more expensive in supermarkets, and snacks are cheaper, even though lower-fat options might ideally be more highly valued.”

A switch to biodegradable packaging

Using about 70 tons of plastic packaging annually, Balsnack recently attempted to switch to biodegradable packaging.

“This is the future,” Rusing believes, though current technology doesn’t yet suit their products.

“A few years ago, our packaging partner suggested switching to biodegradable packaging, noting that Finland had done so, and consumers expect it. For us, this would have meant a €1 million expense. When we approached them again about using biodegradable packaging for a new product, they replied that they had stopped, as biodegradable packaging was degrading in the warehouse,” Rusing recalls. “The quality issue was significant.”

“We want to be eco-friendly, of course. If someone came through the door today with a package that provides the required shelf life, is eco-friendly, and reasonably priced, we’d take it immediately. However, as we produce oil-containing products, we need protection against sunlight and temperature, which current biodegradable packages cannot yet offer. Consumers want a one-year shelf life.”

State support helps to compete in foreign markets 

According to Rusing, Balsnack has invested heavily in changing work processes, with significant support from the state.

“We’ve done much thanks to the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency—whether it’s trade fairs, promoting exports, or digitalisation groups. Before Balsnack, I had my own IT company, and although my father invited me here several times, I said I wouldn’t work in the middle of cabbage fields,” laughs Rusing, now the development manager and board member.

“But eventually, I sold my company and invested all my capital here. This digitalisation and IT in the middle of cabbage fields is ten times more exciting than I used to think.”

Reflecting on the complex digitalisation process, he says, “It’s about making the process extremely reliable and straightforward and then digitalising it. How raw materials come in, how they’re stored, processed, and prepared—everything, including knowing the product cost, to determine the selling price.”

He also emphasises that trade fairs are vital, whether starting in export or aiming to expand. Balsnack participates in 4-6 fairs annually to cover essential regions.

“We want to be eco-friendly, of course. If someone came through the door today with a package that provides the required shelf life, is eco-friendly, and reasonably priced, we’d take it immediately.”
Reigo Rusing, development manager of Balsnack

“I’m a fan of Estonia. Some say things are poorly managed here, but Balsnack wouldn’t exist without this support. We’ve received funds for growth—for ten years, we’ve been lifted, helped to survive, helped with trade fair support and new contacts—it’s been invaluable. Without export, surviving in the Estonian market alone would be difficult.”

Rusing points to two decades-old production lines in the production room that produce Balsnack’s most popular items—cheese- and onion-flavoured potato wafers. “From the original lines, only the frames remain; everything else has been updated,” he explains, adding that if the lines run 24/7, they could produce a million wafer packs a month.

In another room, popcorn machines tirelessly work, filling life-size bags with different types of popcorn. The end of the popcorn line resembles a carousel, equally distributing popcorn into packaging destined for stores.

Future plans: mobile factories and kosher products

Today, Balsnack focuses on niche production and small-market services. They have 2-3 larger and 6-7 smaller export clients, including a continued partnership with Sweden’s DollarStore. Scandinavia’s markets are challenging for importers, as they prefer local producers, but Estonia’s is the opposite.

Looking ahead, Rusing’s vision for the future of food production lights up. “We want to create mobile factories, perhaps even a mobile potato wafer factory,” he explains.

“Imagine telling a partner, ‘Give me 300 square metres of land, water, sewer, and electricity, and I’ll bring the wafer line. I’ll unpack and set up production in two days.’ All operations, production plans, procurement orders, and warehouse management would be run remotely from our office in Estonia, with just one employee on-site to monitor things,” Rusing describes. The concept for mobile production lines will be ready by the year’s end, with a fully functional solution and prototype planned for next year.

Rusing openly shares that production units are planned in the USA, the UK, Dubai, Vietnam, and Japan.

Interesting facts:

• Balsnack International Holding AS, founded in 1992, is Estonia’s largest (and only) potato crisp producer. It offers over 100 products, split between private labels and Balsnack’s brands.
• Since 2008, it has been the only company in Estonia producing high-quality bird food.
• In the past five years, foreign trade has been a significant focus, resulting in a 500% increase in exports (72 countries), accounting for half of the company’s total turnover.
• The company has two factories—a snack factory in Ääsmäe and a bird food factory in Keila—and a sales office in Tallinn.
• Balsnack has over 70 employees, some of whom have been with the company for 30 years since its inception.
• Their best-selling product line is potato wafers, with a million packs sold annually.

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