A partnership between Picnic and Vegemi is trying to make healthier food more appealing to children—and easier for parents to choose.
Helsinki, Finland, 12 August 2026 — In Finland, a children’s restaurant meal has become an unlikely vehicle for food education.
Since the launch of Finland’s Smartest Kids’ Meal in April, more than 38,000 meals have been sold at Picnic, a Finnish restaurant chain. Together, the meals have served approximately 7,600 kilograms of vegetables and fruit to children, according to sales figures provided by Picnic and Vegemi, the food-education company behind the initiative.
The calculation is based on approximately 200 grams of vegetables and fruit in each meal. The figures cover the period from April 22 through August 10, 2026.
The partnership reflects a broader question facing restaurants, schools and families: Can children be encouraged to eat more vegetables if healthy food is made not only available, but also entertaining?
Picnic and Vegemi are betting that the answer is yes.
A nutritional challenge
Children’s restaurant food has traditionally been associated with convenience, familiar flavours and limited nutritional variety. Picnic and Vegemi set out to challenge that model by creating a meal that combines a child-sized restaurant offering with elements of play and storytelling.
Each meal contains enough vegetables and fruit to cover approximately half of a child’s recommended daily vegetable intake. It contains no added sugar.
The initiative arrives against a difficult nutritional backdrop. According to a 2021 study by the University of Turku cited by the companies, only about 1 per cent of Finnish children between the ages of 2 and 6 eat the recommended five daily portions of vegetables, fruit and berries.
Eating habits developed in childhood can influence health later in life, making early exposure to nutritious food an important part of public-health and education efforts. The challenge, however, is to persuade children to try healthier food without turning mealtimes into a negotiation.
“The numbers surprised even us,” said Emilia Järvinen, a co-founder of Vegemi. “They show that families want better options for their children when those options are made easy and appealing enough. Every meal sold is also a small moment of food education.”
Vegetables with superpowers
The meal is served in a cardboard box featuring Vegemi, a friendly gut-microbiome character who gains superpowers from vegetables.
Inside the box are collectible vegetable cards and accessories that allow children to extend the story through play. The experience continues in the Vegemi app, where children can learn about vegetables, nutrition and the microbiome after leaving the restaurant.
In selected Picnic restaurants, children can also use the app on tablets provided by Hublet.
The approach is deliberately indirect. Rather than presenting vegetables as something children are expected to eat because they are good for them, Vegemi turns them into part of a fictional world in which each vegetable has a role to play.
The method builds on storytelling, games and interactive learning. Vegemi has previously been used in early-childhood education and schools, where its stated aim is to make children more curious about vegetables and more willing to try them. The programme has been described as a science-based food-education initiative for children ages 3 to 11.
Picnic’s marketing manager, Elina Halinen, said restaurants had a responsibility to consider their role in children’s diets.
“We want to show that restaurants can be part of the solution in children’s nutrition,” she said.
From classrooms to restaurants
Vegemi, operated by Vegducation Oy, was founded in Finland in 2023. Its food-education method was developed with the City of Espoo and has been introduced in early-childhood education in Espoo and Vantaa.
The method has also been included in Finland’s national Niitty 2 project, which focuses on dental health.
In earlier education-focused trials, Vegemi reported that all participating early-childhood educators observed greater interest in vegetables among children, while 86 per cent said the programme increased children’s willingness to try different vegetables.
The restaurant partnership is one of Vegemi’s first major efforts to bring the method into a commercial food-service setting. It follows the company’s development of a mobile app, which uses play and interactive features to help children understand the relationship between food and health.
The initiative has also attracted international attention. Vegemi’s method was selected for the HundrED Global Collection 2026, a list of 100 education innovations recognised for their potential impact. HundrED describes Vegemi as a gamified programme that introduces young children to nutrition, microbiome health and healthy eating.
Vegemi has also presented its work through the United Nations-led SDG Lab at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where it was cited as an example of an initiative linked to the Sustainable Development Goals.
A model beyond Finland?
Picnic and Vegemi describe the 7,600-kilogram figure as evidence that healthier food can become a practical choice when it is incorporated into a familiar family routine.
The number does not, by itself, establish that the programme has changed children’s long-term eating habits. But it does show the scale that can be reached when nutrition-focused meals are placed in an established restaurant network rather than offered only through schools or specialist programmes.
Picnic introduced the meal in 40 restaurants across 18 Finnish cities. The chain, which was founded in 1991, has employed more than 3,000 young people over the course of its history and says it continues to develop its selection in response to customer preferences.
For Vegemi, the collaboration represents a possible route to international expansion. The company already works with Finnish brands that share its focus on children’s health and food education, and it says the Picnic partnership could serve as a model for restaurants in other countries.
The central idea is simple: children may be more receptive to healthier food when it is presented not as a lesson, but as an experience.
The figures
- More than 38,000 children’s meals sold since launch.
- Approximately 7,600 kilograms of vegetables and fruit served.
- Approximately 200 grams of vegetables and fruit per meal.
- Each meal covers about half of a child’s recommended daily vegetable intake.
- No added sugar.
- Launched on April 22, 2026.
- Available at 40 Picnic restaurants in 18 Finnish cities.
- Sales measured through August 10, 2026.
About Vegemi
Vegemi, operated by Vegducation Oy, is a Finnish food-education company founded in 2023. Its method uses play, storytelling and game-based learning to encourage children to explore vegetables, nutrition and microbiome health.
The free Vegemi app is available through app stores. More information is available at vegemi.fi.
About Picnic
Picnic is a Finnish restaurant chain founded in 1991. It operates 40 restaurants in 18 cities and has employed more than 3,000 young people over the course of its history.
More information is available at picnic.fi.
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