Selling into Finland through distributors

How the market buys

Finland is easy to watch, because the law names a single channel. Under section 60 of the Act on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts (1397/2016), EU-level notices — contract notices, notices on contract modifications and contract award notices among them — must be submitted electronically at www.hankintailmoitukset.fi, the service known as Hilma, using the EU standard forms. Notices submitted there are forwarded to the Publications Office of the European Union. Section 101 adds national procurements: a contract at or above the national threshold must also be announced on hankintailmoitukset.fi.

Finland has two national languages, and section 101 reflects it: national notices are published in Finnish, in Swedish or in both, and authorities covered by the Language Act must also see to the public's information needs as that Act requires.

Public buyers range from central government to municipalities and other public bodies. Where the award notices in your category name a Finnish distributor or wholesaler rather than a manufacturer, that company already holds the contracts and the customer relationships. Finland ranks 12th of 123 countries and regions in the 2025 EF English Proficiency Index, so an approach in English will normally be understood.

Lawful first contact

Finnish law treats natural persons and organisations differently. Section 200 of the Act on Electronic Communications Services (917/2014) allows direct marketing by e-mail, text, voice, sound or picture message, automated calling or fax only to natural persons who have given prior consent. Section 202, headed "direct marketing to organisations" (suoramarkkinointi yhteisölle), allows direct marketing to an organisation unless it has expressly prohibited it. The organisation must be given an easy, free way to prohibit the use of its contact details with every marketing e-mail, and the sender must state clearly that this option exists. Under section 305, the Data Protection Ombudsman (tietosuojavaltuutettu) supervises compliance with the direct-marketing rules in sections 200 and 202–204.

So a first e-mail to a Finnish company, sent to its general address, is lawful without prior consent, provided the message offers a simple opt-out and you respect any prohibition you have received.

What is not settled in the Act: it does not say whether an e-mail to a named employee's address, such as firstname.lastname@company.fi, is marketing to the organisation or to a natural person. The cautious reading is to write to the general address (info@, myynti@, sales@) and to treat named addresses as personal until the distributor replies. When you process a named person's address, data protection law applies to it too.

In practice: write briefly and concretely about what you make and why it fits the distributor's existing range; identify your company fully; include a one-line, free opt-out; keep a list of organisations that have objected and never write to them again. Opening in Finnish, or in Swedish for a Swedish-speaking company, shows care; a clear message in English is a reasonable first step.

What local distributors expect

Before a Finnish distributor takes on a new range, expect it to ask for:

• Product information it can pass on in Finnish, and in Swedish where its customers need it — instructions, safety information, price lists — with an English technical file as a start.
• Conformity evidence for the category: CE marking and declarations of conformity where the product is regulated, test reports against the standards buyers specify.
• A clear commercial proposal: margin, territory, account ownership and exclusivity, stated plainly and with firm numbers.
• Logistics that work across long distances and in winter: lead times you can keep, stock within reach and a plan for spare parts.
• Reliability. A distributor that lists you puts its own name behind your product in front of public buyers; it will expect you to deliver what you promised.

How to enter, step by step

1. Find who already wins your category. In TED's advanced search, set the buyer country to Finland, the notice type to results and add your CPV codes; the companies named in the award notices are your shortlist. Cresques runs this search for the CPV categories you choose. Since 18 June 2026 national procurements at or above the national threshold also get an award notice on Hilma within 30 days of the contract (section 101, Act 519/2026), so Hilma adds award evidence below the EU thresholds. On Hilma you can also follow prior information notices and contract notices in your field, including national procurements at or above the national threshold.
2. Check Hansel. Hansel describes itself as the public administration's central purchasing body (yhteishankintayksikkö), a non-profit company owned by the state and the Association of Finnish Municipalities, whose customers include state agencies, municipalities, wellbeing services counties and universities. It sets up framework agreements and dynamic purchasing systems with a notice on Hilma and takes requests to participate in its electronic tendering service; framework suppliers are usually chosen for four years, while its dynamic purchasing systems stay open to suppliers that meet the requirements for their whole duration. Where a distributor holds a Hansel agreement in your category, it is the company to approach.
3. Prepare documentation in Finnish and Swedish. Instructions, safety information and price lists in Finnish, and in Swedish where the distributor's customers need it, with an English technical file as a start.
4. Assemble conformity evidence. CE marking and declarations of conformity where the product is regulated, and test reports against the standards buyers specify.
5. Make the first contact by e-mail to the general address. Write to info@, myynti@ or sales@, briefly and concretely, about what you make and why it fits the distributor's range; identify your company fully and include a one-line, free opt-out. Opening in Finnish, or in Swedish for a Swedish-speaking company, shows care; clear English is a reasonable first step.
6. Keep an objection list. Never write again to an organisation that has objected, and treat named addresses as personal until the distributor replies.
7. Prepare the first meeting. State margin, territory, account ownership and exclusivity plainly and with firm numbers, and show logistics that work across long distances and in winter: lead times you can keep, stock within reach and a plan for spare parts.
8. Deliver what you promised. A distributor that lists you puts its own name behind your product in front of public buyers; follow up with the commitments you made in the meeting.

Where the evidence comes from

Above the EU thresholds — EUR 140,000 for supplies and services bought by central government bodies and EUR 216,000 for other public authorities from 1 January 2026 — Finnish buyers must publish contract award notices. They submit them through Hilma, which forwards them to the Publications Office, and they appear on TED, the online supplement to the Official Journal of the EU. Each notice names the winning company and carries CPV codes, so the distributors that repeatedly win, for example, medical supplies or furniture contracts across Finland can be identified from the public record.

Cresques reads the award notices for the CPV categories you choose and shows who already sells that category in Finland. It does not help you bid for the contracts; the notices are evidence of who the buyers already trust, and the lawful first contact above is how you reach them.