Fazer expands in Finland with €40m production facility for plant-based products

Fazer says it aims to break ground as soon as possible, with construction expected to continue until 2020. The investment will create 30 jobs in Lahti, located approximately 100km north of Helsinki.

According to CEO Christoph Vitzthum, plant-based products are a ”strategic growth” ​area for the firm: ”We want to be a forefunner in value added grain-based products and we are investing in the development of new production technologies and solutions,” ​he said in a statement.

”We now have at hand an innovation which we believe will create interest also outside Finland and the Nordic countries, even globally.” ​

The investment is part of a larger investment plan that will see Fazer further expand its presence in Northern Europe and into selected international markets.

The firm, which specialises in several food markets, including food services, bakery and confectionary has invested approximately €195m over the past three years.

Part of that sum was invested in ’Fazer Lifestyle Foods’, a plant-based meals and on-the-go food and drinks business launched in early 2017, in response to increased demand for healthy and plant-based foods.