Midsummer: A celebration of food and love - the peak in contraceptive sales

Based on a K-food Facebook page survey about favourite midsummer meals, 65% of Finns regard new potatoes with dill and herring as essential to the midsummer table. According to 2,557 respondents, strawberries, sausage and a variety of fish dishes are also central to midsummer food traditions.

But there is a growing change in midsummer traditions as an increasing amount of people spend midsummer at festivals instead of summer cottages. Lari Mäkelä, who runs K-Supermarket Vessel in Rauma, is rushed off his feet when the Raumanmeren Juhannus festival attracts up to 60,000 festival goers to the town.

'Festival goers like to eat, for example, filled baguettes and sandwiches. Festival food should also include traditional grilled meat and vegetables and let's not forget fish and new potatoes. This summer's hit is bacon wrapped around rhubarb: the rhubarb is coated with sugar and bacon is wrapped around it. And then there is the beer - at midsummer specialist and craft beers are consumed more than is usual,' states Mäkelä.

The situation is similar elsewhere in Finland. 'At midsummer, customers are in an especially good mood. Festival food, refreshments and sausages are a must, as is grilling equipment and charcoal. If the weather is exceptionally sunny, then ice cream also belongs to the midsummer feasting,' explains Jarmo Ruotsalainen of K-Market Tahkon Tähden who serves visitors to the Himos Juhannus festival.

Customers trust in tradition in Jämsä

Jämsä's K-Citymarket benefits from the traditional Himos Juhannus festival as customers flow through the doors and the in-store mood is more relaxed than normal.

'We have a large number of customers who trust in the traditional, for example, we sell a lot of sausages and cucumber salad. Since the liberalisation of opening hours, midsummer sales are now more evenly spread over the holiday weekend,' says retailer Mika Ulander.

'Disposable plates and utensils, charcoal and the essential needs of festival goers like disposable rain jackets also fly off the shelves more than at any other time. And in the summer and during midsummer, skin care products and contraceptives sell at much higher rates,' says Hanna-Leena Kingelin K-Citymarket Jämsä's Department Store Manager.

Midsummer Eve is when most contraceptives are sold

Midsummer is not only about feasting it is also a celebration of love. Contraceptive sales clearly rise in K-food stores in June and July but on Midsummer Eve in 2016, more contraceptives were purchased than on any other day.

Sales of contraceptives stay strong into July, when sales are about 25% higher than in other months.

The map is based on data from K-Plussa customers and shows that Ostrobothnia, Uusimaa and Central Finland purchase more condoms per capita than elsewhere in Finland. The data is based on a regional review of shopping baskets containing condoms in K-food stores in 2016.