Finnish fast food is expanding: Hesburger to open 10 new restaurants in Ukraine
25 July 16:40
The Finnish fast food chain Hesburger plans to expand its presence in Ukraine by opening at least 10 new restaurants in the west of the country over the next five years. This was reported by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine following a meeting between Deputy Minister Oksana Osmachko and Janne Harjunpaa, Executive Director of Eastoffice of Finnish Industries, and Wanda Zamitska-Bergendale, CEO of Hesburger Ukraine, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
It is known that the total investment in the development of the network will exceed 12 million euros.
Hesburger already has experience of investing in the Ukrainian economy: in March 2025, the company invested €7.3 million in the creation of a production and warehouse complex near Kyiv.
The facility produces cutlets and stores products for further delivery to the chain’s outlets. The daily production capacity is up to 6 tons of meat, which allows the company to serve up to 50 restaurants at a time. After the opening of the new center, 10 new jobs were created, and the total number of employees in Ukraine increased to 75. This project was the first Finnish industrial investment in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war.
According to Kari Salmela, CEO of Hesburger Finland, the construction of the complex plays a key role in strengthening the brand’s position in the Ukrainian market. The company intends not only to increase the number of restaurants, but also to continue using local ingredients, including Ukrainian meat, for its products.
The project was implemented in difficult conditions: the construction was stopped twice due to the military situation.
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Hesburger is the largest fast food restaurant chain in Finland, founded in 1966 in Naantali. Its history began with a small grill stall opened by Heikki Salmela, who later became the owner and permanent head of the company. In the 1980s, the Hesburger brand began to grow rapidly in Finland, and in 1992, it opened its first restaurant abroad. It happened in Tallinn (Estonia).
Since the mid-1990s, Hesburger has been gradually expanding its presence in the Baltic States, opening restaurants in Latvia and Lithuania. In the 2000s, the company briefly entered the markets of Poland, Germany, Turkey, and Russia, but later focused on the Baltic and Northern Europe.
As of 2025, the chain has more than 480 restaurants in nine countries, including Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Northern Cyprus. Approximately 270 restaurants are located in Finland, where Hesburger is ahead of even McDonald’s in terms of the number of restaurants. The company has its own production facilities, logistics centers and laundries in Finland and Lithuania, which ensures full control over product quality and service.
In 2021, the company’s revenue amounted to more than EUR 250 million. The company left the Russian market in 2022 after the start of a full-scale war against Ukraine. In 2025, Hesburger became the first Finnish business to invest in production infrastructure in Ukraine during the war. The family management model, vertical integration and focus on regional markets have made Hesburger one of the most successful fast food chains in Northern Europe.
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