In 1994, our troll character popped up in many places. There was a comic and various customer gifts, and then – one day – someone had the idea of baking Peikko gingerbread. An employee of Peikko, Matti Metsänen, took up the challenge and made a troll-shaped gingerbread-cutter from sheet metal. The cookie-cutter encapsulated the true Peikko character, right down to the mischievous grin. Matti could do much more than just working sheet metal into shape: He baked the first batch of gingerbread trolls at home.
Unbeatable flavor
However, Matti's kitchen was no place for mass production, so Peikko contacted a well-known local bakery. They were happy to help, and Peikko worked with the partner to experiment with numerous different gingerbread recipes. The goal was to create a tasty cookie with a robust texture. The selected recipe was the overwhelming favorite of the esteemed panel of judges, and it has not been changed to this day. The recipe has also remained a secret.
Customers soon got a taste for the gingerbread, and they even began asking for it before the holiday season. A classic had been born.
Solid traditions and customer-friendly development
Nowadays, hundreds of Peikko gingerbread cookies are made every month. “We still use the genuine, original cookie-cutter, and we make the cookies by hand. I don't know of any other company with a gingerbread tradition like Peikko,” says Kari Virtanen, Managing Director of our partner bakery.
Over the years, changes to the size, recipe, or appearance of Peikko's gingerbread cookies have been suggested. Such suggestions have always been dismissed without a second thought: The gingerbread has already become a tradition that neither customers nor sales managers wish to change. “People look forward to our gingerbread; if we changed it, our customers would be disappointed,” say employees in Peikko's sales team.
However, product development never stands still. In honor of this jubilee year, Peikko's gingerbread cookie comes now in a green cake box, and it is sure to garner plenty of attention on coffee tables. And you are probably wondering where would it be possible to taste these gingerbreads? They are available at our headquarters in Lahti, Finland.
Season’s greetings; with all GOOD WISHES for the new year 2020.
Our blog team
