R-kioski Operators Katja and Eeva Huhtimo Named Hausjärvi Entrepreneurs of the Year 2026

Katja and Eeva Huhtimo, who run the R-kioski outlets in Oitti and Järvelä, have been named Hausjärvi Entrepreneurs of the Year 2026. The award for the mother and daughter’s company, E ja K Huhtimo Oy, recognises their extensive kiosk experience and highlights the division of responsibilities in franchising: the chain provides shared systems and an established business format, while the franchisees focus on customers and sales.

Local recognition for two generations of entrepreneurs

A news report published on 24 October by Suomen Yrittäjät, the Federation of Finnish Enterprises, announced the Huhtimos’ selection as Hausjärvi Entrepreneurs of the Year. Katja and Eeva have almost 50 years of combined experience working in R-kioski outlets. This refers to their combined working experience, not the age of their current company: E ja K Huhtimo Oy was established in 2015.

The company’s outlets are in Oitti and Järvelä. Eeva Huhtimo has operated the Järvelä kiosk as an entrepreneur since 2012. The mother and daughter’s story therefore brings together extensive experience of day-to-day life within the chain and local business activity at two locations. Both have also been named R-kioski Retailer of the Year; Eeva received the award in 2013.

The Hausjärvi business award now adds local recognition to their accolades within the chain. For Finland’s franchising community, the news is a reminder that behind a chain’s branding sits an independently owned business run by identifiable local entrepreneurs. In the Huhtimos’ case, one company brings together two generations of experience and kiosk operations in two communities.

The report focuses on the recognition the entrepreneurs have received and the work they describe. Rather than setting their sights on new outlets in the near future, the Huhtimos hope for consistent profitability. This gives the award story a practical dimension: alongside the recognition, the entrepreneurs are talking about business continuity and financial stability.

Chain services free up time for sales

Katja Huhtimo describes the benefits of franchising through a practical division of responsibilities. In return for fees and financial security, the franchisee receives an established business format. According to Katja, the chain determines the products, prices and marketing. It also handles financial administration, till systems and IT matters.

Katja says this allows them to concentrate on customer service and sales. In her account, the chain’s value extends beyond a shared name or shop design. Its support also covers behind-the-scenes tasks that customers may never notice but which are essential to daily operations.

The Huhtimos’ experience illustrates how responsibilities are shared within a franchise network. Central services and the work of local franchisees are different parts of the same operation. The chain’s business format provides the framework, while customer service and sales remain at the heart of the franchisee’s working day. In this case, the entrepreneurs identify that ability to focus as a particular strength of the model.

This is the Huhtimos’ own experience, not a promise of what every franchise offers. Nevertheless, for anyone assessing a franchise opportunity, their account suggests a clear approach: look beyond the shared brand to establish which practical tasks the chain handles and how franchisees are expected to spend their working time.

Food sales changed the focus of kiosk work

The Huhtimos’ long experience also spans changes in R-kioski’s ownership and operating model. Sanoma sold Rautakirja to Norway’s Reitan Convenience in 2012. According to the Suomen Yrittäjät report, this was when outlets began to be converted to franchisee-run businesses.

Eeva Huhtimo says food sales became a much more prominent part of the business at the same time. She regards the change as a healthy development and believes the chain would not have succeeded with its old format. This is her personal assessment, as an entrepreneur with many years of kiosk experience, of why the business needed to evolve.

The timing also has personal significance for Eeva, as she began running the Järvelä kiosk as an entrepreneur in 2012. The chain’s transformation and the start of her own business journey therefore coincided. The mother and daughter’s current limited company was established three years later.

The award story is thus about more than a long working career. It also reflects the entrepreneurs’ experience of a changing business format and how decisions made by the chain affect local operations. The growing importance of food sales is central to Eeva’s account of that change, while Katja emphasises how the current division of responsibilities allows them to focus on customers.

The next goal is consistent profitability

The Huhtimos say they are happy running a business in Finland. At the same time, they see many charges, including statutory pension insurance contributions for the self-employed, known as YEL, as a burden. Their positive experience of the chain’s support sits alongside concerns about business costs: an established franchise format does not remove the need to manage their own company’s finances.

For the near future, the mother and daughter hope for consistent profitability. That goal remains an important part of their message, even as they receive the award. In their account, business success is measured not only through recognition but also through the day-to-day division of work and long-term financial stability.

For the franchising community, their story offers a local example of entrepreneurs who value the chain’s shared services while recognising the cost pressures of running a business. Their extensive experience gives their observations a longer-term perspective, encompassing both the changes of 2012 and the daily realities of their current company.

Practical takeaway: Anyone considering a franchise should establish what the chain’s services include, which tasks remain the franchisee’s responsibility, and how fees and financial security requirements will affect their finances. For the Huhtimos, a key benefit is being able to focus their own work on customer service and sales.