Founder
Oulu, Finland
I'm Risto Holappa, the founder of Willit. When I started a family, I began to think about the kind of world I want my children to grow up in. I wanted us to eat clean food, produced close to home — the same food I got to enjoy as a child in the north. That thought became Willit: a marketplace connecting fishers, hunters, foragers, and small farms directly with homes and restaurants.
I grew up in Arkala, Oulu, surrounded by good berry forests and cloudberry bogs. In season the forests are full of bilberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, and cranberries. My mother's family is from the north, where the foraging tradition passes from one generation to the next. Heading out to pick berries was a natural part of childhood — we often gathered more than our family needed.
Our family also has forests of its own, so everyman's rights are familiar to me in practice — I know exactly what they allow and what they don't.
There is big demand for wild produce in Finland and abroad, but a proper sales channel has been missing. Willit is building it: the picker lists the harvest, the buyer finds it, and the price is fair to both.
I encourage everyone to head into the forest. Thanks to everyman's rights picking is free, and the forest offers its gifts to anyone willing to walk its paths.
I believe fishers, hunters, foragers, and small farms deserve a fair marketplace. That's why we build two things: a marketplace made for trading wild produce, and the Willit container. The container is a pickup point for preorders and keeps each batch cold until pickup. We aim for a future where the maker's work pays off right where nature is — and the possibilities of life grow across the north.
"Every purchase on Willit is a vote for a local producer."
Discover Willit's story in articles and podcasts.
Kaleva · FI ·
Kaleva tells how a family member's everyday problem inspired Willit and its marketplace for wild produce.
Read the Kaleva articleThe article requires a Kaleva subscription.
Centria · FI
Risto joins the Rethink episode of Centria's Kiertokumppanit podcast to discuss rethinking the food chain and shortening the journey from producer to consumer.
Listen on Centria's websiteEN
Risto on Trusted Cofounder: building Willit — a marketplace for Finnish foragers, fishers and hunters.
FI
Risto guests on the Finnish Finking Cap Club podcast to talk about Willit and entrepreneurship.
Award
Region D innovation category winner
Willit won the Region D innovation category of JCI Finland's Tuottava Idea 2026 competition. The award was presented in Rovaniemi on 12 September 2026.
Read about the award on Savonia's websiteYlpeydellä Oulusta
European Capital of Culture 2026
I'm always interested in hearing stories from producers, fishers, and hunters. Get in touch and let's talk!