Wok Wok is a food company that soon after its establishment expanded from restaurant operations to the production of ready meals. The company feels that it has received the support it needs to succeed in Järvenpää.
Main photo: Jenni Chen-Ye (left), CEO of Wok Wok, with the production staff of the Järvenpää prepared food factory. Photo.
The Wok Wok ready-to-eat food factory has been operating at Wärtsilä Järvenpää since 2022. The company makes Asian ready meals for consumer sales and also has a restaurant at Hakaniemi metro station, which opened in September 2023. The company was originally established in 2020.
- We started our business in a restaurant and then expanded into prepared food," says Jenni Chen-Ye, CEO of Wok Wok and restaurateur.
Chen-Ye says Wok Wok products have received good feedback from the restaurant side. Once the prepared food products started selling in K-Supermarkets, it was easy to continue.
Järvenpää was chosen as the location for Wok Wok's ready-to-eat food factory due to its good transport connections to both the Helsinki metropolitan area and northern Finland.
- Järvenpää is located close to the ring road and our factory is located on Wärtsilänkatu near the ring road. Good connections make it easy to get labour. The rent for office space in the city was also lower than in the capital region.
Chen-Ye also says that he received a recommendation from a friend who had rented space at the Fox Center Business Center.
Chen-Ye also takes the example of the Chinese saying yuan fen. It means the right moment, time, place and price.
- All the stars were aligned for the placement in Järvenpää.
Woks for different tastes. A total of eight different flavours of woks are made in Järvenpää. Photo.
The following plans
According to Chen-Ye, the cornerstone of a company's growth is the price-quality ratio of the product and the fact that the customer's wishes and needs are met. Larger premises also allow for growth.
- At some point we will have to look for bigger premises in Järvenpää. At the moment, however, internationalisation is not on our minds, as Finland is yet to be conquered. The domestic market is very good enough for us at the moment.
Wok Wok is part of the Business Järvenpää Food Growth Network. Chen-Ye says that the network meetings have provided her with useful information about business in the sector, while also allowing her to network with other food businesses in Järvenpää. In addition, members of the network have been able to visit other local businesses.
- Business Järvenpää has been an excellent door opener for us. At the same time, Business Järvenpää's experts and contact persons have been easy to approach and have provided us with the necessary contacts," says Chen-Ye.
- We will continue to be passionate about food in the future.
Key figures
Customers
Wok Wok has an average of 200 customers per day. Customers also include several grocery stores in Southern Finland, where the ready meals are delivered for sale. Wok Wok produces around 3 500 - 5 000 ready meals per week.
Employment
Wok Wok employs a total of 20 people, 8 of whom work in Järvenpää. The employees live or have moved to Järvenpää for work.
Turnover
In 2022, Wok Wok's turnover was approximately EUR 1.53 million, an increase of approximately EUR 600 000 compared to 2021.
Järvenpää's strengths and business stories
Järvenpää is a great place and opportunity for a wide range of businesses. Our central location and good accessibility make it easy to move products, services and labour in all directions. Järvenpää is at the centre of a 900,000-strong employment area and all the educational organisations in the metropolitan area are within a 30-minute radius.
Companies in Järvenpää are active in networking and Business Järvenpää and its partners help companies on the road to growth, internationalisation and entrepreneurship. The city has four growth networks in different key sectors (food, industry, trade and services, real estate and construction). The Growth Networks address issues that businesses want to address, such as their labour needs, human resources skills, growth and internationalisation , without forgetting the perspectives and needs of local business and industry.
Do you want to be part of the success stories of companies in Järvenpää? Welcome to become part of Järvenpää's active business life and share your business story with us. Find out more about the city's location opportunities and business services Business Järvenpää and contact us!