Fazer

The story begins in 1891 when Karl Fazer, a 25-year-old master confectioner, opened a French-Russian café in Helsinki. Having trained in St. Petersburg, Berlin, and Paris, he brought a sophisticated European sensibility to Finland. The café quickly gained a following, but Fazer's ambitions lay in manufacturing. By 1897, demand for his chocolates and sweets led him to open a four-story factory, transitioning the business from a popular café to an industrial producer. The company's playbook involved steady, focused growth. A pivotal moment was the creation of Karl Fazer Milk Chocolate in 1922, famously wrapped in blue to symbolize Finnish nature. This product became the company's flagship and an icon of national identity. Growth continued through strategic acquisitions, such as the purchase of Swedish company Mazetti in 1975, which brought key brands like Dumle into the portfolio. A significant chapter unfolded in 2000 when the confectionery division merged with its Swedish rival, Cloetta, to form Cloetta Fazer. However, the combination proved temporary. By 2008, the two entities were separated, and Fazer re-emerged as an independent company, a move that allowed it to refocus on its core identity and markets. Remaining a family-owned business, Fazer has avoided an IPO, instead concentrating on a transformation into a modern food company with divisions in bakery, confectionery, and lifestyle foods.