History

AS Balbiino was founded by OÜ NG Investeeringud.

Balbiino is a 100% Estonian-owned company.

Construction of the factory began in early 1996

Production lines were ready for ice cream production

Started production, and the first batch of ice cream was sold on July 9, 1996.

Year 1996

 

Ice cream sales totaled 2.5 million kroons.
Began production of 0.5 L and 1 L family ice creams in cardboard packaging.
The company had 52 employees.
Year 1997
Approximately 814 tons of ice cream were produced.
In the wholesale frozen foods market, Balbiino achieved about 30% market share.
New ice cream products

Began production of stick ice creams and ice pops, with sales significantly increasing during summer months.
Launched cone-shaped waffle ice creams Vurr, which became immediately popular among consumers.

Sales Development

Major progress was achieved in Tallinn, where Balbiino’s turnover doubled (100% increase).
In addition to two salesmen, three driver-agents started working in Tallinn, directly serving smaller clients from their vehicles.
Three regional sales managers (East, South, West) began working with larger clients in their respective areas.
Balbiino was well-represented at summer events and outdoor sales through OÜ Illimari, which participated in 80 events and operated 10 outdoor sales points in Tallinn.

In total, 15 new ice cream varieties were launched in 1998

Grosso stick ice cream was recognized in the Best Estonian Food Product 1998 competition.

Nipi-Tiri stick ice cream series — new child-friendly design and new glaze.

Duett — the first family ice cream in Estonia, with two different ice cream flavors packed into one container.

0.5 L Toffee ice cream quickly rose to the top of sales rankings.

Year 1998

 

Turnover was 84.8 million kroons.
Ice cream production reached 1,365 tons.
Sales of other frozen foods totaled 19.7 million kroons.
There were 1,327 Balbiino freezers in stores, and the average annual turnover per freezer was 63,900 kroons.
The company had 90 employees.
Year 1999

 

Turnover was 106.2 million kroons.
Ice cream production reached 2,410 tons.
Sales of other frozen food products grew by 55%, totaling 30.7 million kroons.
Ice cream exports to Latvia amounted to 5 million kroons.
The company had 113 employees.
Balbiino’s market share of ice cream sales in Estonia was 35–40%.

 

Sales of Härmavili products were on a growth trajectory.

Growth in frozen food sales was supported by an expanding assortment of vegetables, fish products, and the introduction of meat products to the market.

Year 2000
Turnover was 137.4 million kroons.
Ice cream production reached 3,101 tons.
Sales of other frozen foods grew 60% to 49.3 million kroons.
Export grew to 17.8 million kroons — a 3.5-fold increase.
Main export partner was Latvia.
The company had 154 employees.
Balbiino’s market share of ice cream sales in Estonia was 35–40%.

 

More than 20 new ice creams launched.

New brands Love, Jess, Kolm Sõpra, Dream, Silver, Gold, Bronze, Exotic, and waffle cups Krossu were well received on the Estonian market.

New products Raks, Lumemarja ja Dixi

Year 2001
Turnover was 177 million kroons.
Ice cream production reached 3,216 tons.
Sales of other frozen foods grew 61% to 79.4 million kroons.
Export grew to 21.8 million kroons.
The main export country in 2001 was Latvia.
The company had 170 employees.
Balbiino’s market share of ice cream sales in Estonia was 35–40%.
Adopted the slogan „Ice cream that warms the heart.”
New delicious ice creams

Introduced new delicious ice creams: chocolate ice cream cream Mousse (125 ml), family ice creams in transparent plastic buckets, redesigned ice cream cake, and Vurr ice cream.

Year 2002
Turnover was 200 million kroons, including 106 million from ice cream sales.
Ice cream production reached 3,802 tons.
Sales of other frozen foods totaled 93 million kroons.
Exported to Latvia.
The company had 190 employees.
New products

Launched new products in development: Vanilla Ninja, Grand Prix Vurri, Maxi cups, and several classic products in new packaging.

Completed expansion of the ice cream factory and a new cold storage facility.

Recognized by the Veterinary and Food Board as compliant with the Food Act.

Year 2003

 

Turnover was 240 million kroons, of which ice cream sales were 117 million kroons.
Ice cream production reached 3,773 tons
Sales of other frozen foods totaled 122 million kroons.
The company had 200 employees.
Exports were made to Latvia and Lithuania. Exports grew by 20%.
Jeti and Limbo brand launches

Launched the Jeti brand with new products, including three types of stick ice creams, a one-liter family pack ice cream, and six different curd snack varieties. Also introduced the Limbo sorbet ice cream and expanded the assortment of Tops and family ice creams.
Started production and marketing of chilled and deep-frozen curd snacks, with 80 tons produced.

Year 2004
Turnover was 274 million kroons, of which ice cream sales were 127 million kroons.
Ice cream production reached 3,715 tons.
Sales of other frozen foods totaled 142 million kroons.
The company had 213 employees.
Export countries were Latvia, Lithuania, and Germany.
Ice cream delivery service Jätsiabi cars started operating in Tallinn

Vanilla Ninja became the most popular ice cream in Estonia.

In August 2005, Balbiino became the market leader in Estonia’s single ice cream segment, according to research company AC Nielsen.

Year 2005
Turnover was 301 million kroons, including 127 million from ice cream and 23.8 million from curd snacks.
Ice cream production reached 3,950 tons.
Sales of other frozen foods totaled 149 million kroons.
The company had 225 employees.
Export countries included Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Germany.
Härmavili product selection was constantly expanded with new products.
Balbiino received the BRC (Global Standard Food) quality and food safety management system certificate.

Year 2006
Turnover was 310 million kroons, of which ice cream and curd snack sales were 164 million kroons.
Ice cream production reached 3,517 tons.
Sales of other frozen foods totaled 149 million kroons.
The company had 230 employees.
Export countries included Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, and Sweden.
Adopted the slogan „Balbiino – Good Estonian ice cream. Let’s make life sweeter!”

Launched waffle cone ice creams Trull and cream stick ice creams.

Ice cream Mr. Big was extremely popular.
Year 2007
Turnover was 316 million kroons, of which ice cream sales accounted for 151 million kroons.
Ice cream production reached 4,232 tons.
Sales of other frozen food products totaled 146 million kroons.
The company had 230 employees.
Export countries included Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, and Sweden.
Sales within the EU increased by 32% compared to the previous year, mainly due to growth in Latvia and Sweden.
New brand Musi

Launched a new brand Musi ice creams, featuring redesigned plastic cups and a 900 ml family pack.

A new production line was introduced.

New Polish cup line (2008-11-26).

Year 2008
Revenue totaled 328 million EEK, with ice cream sales of 161 million EEK.
A total of 4,079 tons of ice cream were produced.
Sales of other frozen foods amounted to 155 million EEK.
The company had 215 employees.
Export markets included Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Sweden.

EU internal trade grew by 30% compared to the previous year, mainly due to increased sales to Latvia.
Mr. Big waffle ice cream with a new flavor was launched.
The slogan „The right to the best ice cream – Balbiino!” was introduced.
Most popular products were Classic, Yeti, Raks, and Vanilla Ninja ice creams.

The season’s most popular ice creams were Yeti and Classic cream ice creams in waffle cups, as well as Raks and Vanilla Ninja ice creams. Jätsiabi ice cream trucks operated in Tallinn, Tartu, and Pärnu, offering 54 different types of ice cream.

Year 2010
Revenue totaled 247 million EEK, with ice cream sales of 124 million EEK.
Sales of other frozen foods amounted to 88 million EEK.
The company had 215 employees.
Export countries included Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Ireland.
Launch of Lumemarja and Fitness ice creams.

Introduction of cream cone ice creams, one-liter family pack cream ice cream, and Lumemarja ice cream. In the health product line, two new Fitness yogurt ice creams were introduced.

Further development of the frozen food brands Härmavili and Marine.
A new ice cream production line was introduced, improving product quality and production capacity.
Year 2011
Revenue amounted to €19.3 million, with ice cream sales totaling €8.5 million.
Sales of other frozen foods reached €6.3 million.
Export markets in the EU included Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Ireland, and Germany.
Altogether, 34 products were launched for different markets.

Based on a cooperation agreement with Warner Brothers, Batman-branded products were launched in four different packages and two flavors. Separate brands Krejuma and Sniega Oga were developed for the Latvian market.

Success of cream ice creams.

Among the top 20 most profitable products, 9 were new products, including cream ice cream in waffle cones, new semi-biscuit Raks, Lumemarja waffle cones, and others.

Four new Onu Eskimo ice creams and the opening of the Onu Eskimo ice cream café in Tartu Kaubamaja.
Year 2012
Revenue amounted to €19.5 million, of which ice cream sales totaled €8.2 million.
Sales of other frozen foods reached €6.6 million.
Logistics services turnover amounted to €4.6 million.

 
Export countries included Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Ireland, and Germany.
The slogan „Ice creams that melt hearts – Balbiino!” was introduced.
Success of Jäämurdja cream ice cream and other ice creams.

In cooperation with Tallinn Maritime Days, the ship-shaped Jäämurdja orange cream ice cream in a waffle cup was launched. The most successful products in the portfolio were waffle cone cream ice creams and Onu Eskimo branded products, with Raks branded products also showing strong performance.

Development of the Härmavili brand product portfolio.
Two-flavored Draakon sorbets.

A successful collaboration with Kalev led to the launch of unique two-flavored Draakon sorbets.

Year 2013
Revenue amounted to €23 million, with ice cream sales of €8.5 million.
Sales of other frozen foods reached €9.5 million.
Logistics services turnover amounted to €5.2 million.

 
Export countries included Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Ireland, Germany, and Denmark. Finland became the largest export market, accounting for 45% of total export revenue. Entry into the Russian market was also initiated.
Ice creams in the Classic range remained very popular.

Classic Vana Tallinn ice cream.

The Tikri cream ice cream became the most successful new ice cream on the Estonian market in 2014.
Year 2014
Revenue amounted to €21.7 million, of which ice cream sales totaled €9.5 million.
Sales of other frozen foods reached €6.8 million.
Logistics services turnover amounted to €5.2 million.
New products: Salme Jumps yogurt ice creams and fat-free Mango Smuutike ice cream.

Launched new Classic stick ice creams
Year 2015
Turnover: €22.2 million, of which €9.8 million from ice cream sales.
Other frozen foods: €6.9 million.
Logistics services: €5.5 million.

 
Exports grew 20%, exported to Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Sweden.
Finland accounted for 58% of export turnover.
Adopted the slogan: „Genuine Estonian ice creams”.
Continued production technology development.
Year 2016
Turnover: €24.1 million, of which €9.8 million from ice cream sales.
Other frozen foods: €7.3 million.
Logistics services: €5.6 million.
Exports grew 42%, total export share of ice cream sales: 33%.
Sales to Latvia grew by 51%. Exported to Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden.
Launched Gourmet Club by Balbiino Classic.

In collaboration with Imre Kose, luxury gourmet ice creams were introduced.

Best-selling new product: Onu Eskimo Kukekomm caramel ice cream.

Successful rebranding of Onu Eskimo.

Best-selling ice cream: Vanilla Ninja vanilla cream ice cream in glaze
Year 2017
Turnover: €25.6 million, of which €11.4 million from ice cream sales.
Other frozen foods: €8 million.
Logistics services: €6.1 million.

 
Exports grew the most in Sweden, also exported to Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Sweden.
Lõvi Leo ice cream was launched.

See Lõvi Leo, Estonian police and Jätsiabi in action.

Nurr – 2nd place in the 2018 competition for Most Successful New Products! Yay!

Nurr became the most successful new product in Balbiino’s ice cream portfolio — a two-flavor vanilla and chocolate cream ice cream in milk chocolate glaze.

See how Nurr ice cream is made

Most successful brands in the ice cream portfolio: Vanilla Ninja, Onu Eskimo, Raks, and Nurr.

 

 

 

 
Year 2018
2018 was a successful export year for Balbiino.
The largest export market was still Finland (47% of export turnover).
Latvia was second (22% of export turnover).
Ice cream was exported to 10 countries (Finland, Latvia, Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania, Hungary, Belgium, Poland, France, Ireland).

 

The Maiuspala ice cream, launched in August 2019, exceeded all sales forecasts.

Under the Härmavili frozen berries and vegetables portfolio, two new smoothie mixes were launched.

 

 

  

 

Härmavili Kullakesed remains Estonia’s top-selling frozen French fries.

The most purchased ice cream in Estonia in 2019 was Vanilla Ninja vanilla ice cream with chocolate glaze!

Year 2019

In 2019, several successful product lines were launched. Raks waffle cups led the market trend in this format.

A significant sales volume was achieved with new Balbiino Classic 0.5 L family packages, which have eco-friendly cardboard packages.

Estonia’s Best Dessert 2021: Balbiino Be Beautiful blackcurrant sorbet with vanilla ice cream.

Year 2021

The Onu Eskimo brand, keeping up with the times, offered consumers new solutions: plombir-type ice creams made from real Estonian cream, and as the first in Scandinavia, we introduced a sustainable ice cream package made of at least 50% recycled material.

Year 2022

We launched Vanilla Ninja Mini ice creams made from authentic Estonian cream — Mini pear and strawberry cream ice creams that delight even the biggest Ninja fans.

We modernized the Balbiino logo.

We launched a plant-based chocolate ice cream with rich Belgian chocolate glaze and almond flakes.

In cooperation with Fitlap, we created a cream ice cream without white sugar, included in the Fitlap diet plan.

We launched waffle cones under the Mr.Big brand in Latvia.

We introduced cultivated blueberries under the Härmavili brand.
Kohukese Ice Cream

Local food producers Tere and Balbiino joined forces to offer a new curd ice cream featuring the original cat image for the ice cream season. It hit the market on April 1st, and on April Fool’s Day, many thought it was a joke on social media — but it was not an April Fool’s prank!

Official ice cream partner of the XIII Youth Song and Dance Celebration

The Estonian Song and Dance Celebration Foundation and Balbiino signed a cooperation agreement, making Balbiino the official ice cream partner of the XIII Youth Song and Dance Celebration.

In honor of the youth celebration “The Land is Sacred”, we created a new flavored ice cream: vanilla ice cream with chocolate pieces and soft glaze as a stick ice cream.

Year 2023

Vanilla Ninja vanilla ice cream has delighted Estonian ice cream lovers for 20 years! In September, we celebrated the Vanilla Ninja anniversary year with charity, bringing ice cream to children at Tallinn Children’s Home and Tartu Käopesa Family Home.

We launched Härmvili vegetables with seeds and vegetables with chickpeas.

We launched the Onu Eskimo Duo series, combining two flavors in one.

Duo pack – two flavors in one box, cream ice cream.

Duo pakk - kaks maitset ühes karbis. koorejäätis
Year 2024

We launched Härmavili’s summer berry mix and, in the Classic range, unbelievably delicious new flavors: mango-peach-passionfruit cream ice cream in yogurt glaze, raspberry cream ice cream with blueberry-raspberry filling and raspberry pieces in milk chocolate glaze, and cream ice cream with Bourbon vanilla extract in Belgian chocolate glaze.

We expanded the Onu Eskimo Duo series and introduced Duo stick ice creams to the market.

We entered the Finnish market under our own brand. Under the RAKS brand, we launched four products: Duo stick ice creams and waffle cones.

The joint collaboration project “Kaitsetahe” won both the main prize and the audience favorite award from the Estonian Retailers Association! Balbiino is proud to be among the contributors with Reservist ice cream.