Founded in 1891, Fazer is one of the most famous Finnish food companies, producing chocolate, cakes and confectionery since 1894. Whenever I visit Finland I always return home with a selection of their delicious chocolates so it was a perfect opportunity for me to learn more about the company and to sample a selection of their products.
Getting there:
The Fazer Experience Visitor Centre is situated in Vantaa around a 40 minute drive from Helsinki. There is a large free car park and the centre is also serviced by buses from both Helsinki and Vantaa, making it accessible for visitors using public transport. As it is also a similar distance from Helsinki Airport it’s a great place to visit for travellers who have a several hour layover. From the airport one can take Bus 570 to Kyrkogränden followed by a 15 minute walk or for a speedier option, pick up a taxi from outside of the airport.
Fazer Experience Guided Tour:
One hour guided tours are available in both Finnish and English and as these are very popular I suggest pre-booking in advance. Adult tickets cost €15.50 (£13.06) and are excellent value as they include tasting samples and a gift bag to take home for each paying visitor.
Our Sunday afternoon tour was fully booked with a group of 25. This was quite a good size as everyone had an opportunity to look at exhibits individually and it never appeared rushed or over crowded. The tour began in the visitor centre’s foyer where we all received a warm welcome from our tour guide. He explained that Fazer has welcomed visitors for over 60 years and the current centre had been open since 2016 in celebration of Fazer’s 125th anniversary.
We were then taken into the tropical garden where we experienced the flavours and aromas of numerous plants used in the production of chocolate including cocoa, cinnamon, blueberries and pepper.
From there we moved into the cinema room where we were invited to sit and watch a short film on the history of the Fazer company. The family company was established in 1891 when Karl Fazer opened his first cafe in Helsinki. The premises soon became too small and after moving, production of Fazer’s confectionery business began. The confectionery was not only successful within Finland but overseas as well and exports began after Fazer won prizes at international exhibitions. Today Fazer chocolate is exported to the other Nordic countries and as far afield as Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, America, Africa and Australia.
Continuing our tour, we were given taster samples of some of Fazer’s bakery products to try as Fazer expanded into bakery production in 1958. These were initially sold from their own bakeries but nowadays are available in most Finnish supermarkets. The traditional dark rye bread is one of my favourites together with their mouthwatering Dallas Pulla buns.
These soft buns are a Fazer classic dating from 1995 and are deliciously sweet with a rich vanilla flavoured filling. Our family likes them so much that we wish they were also available in England!
The next stage of the tour was to view packaging through the ages. Peering into glass cabinets we viewed old tins and cardboard boxes featuring Finnish nature, traditional costumes and others depicting notable events including Helsinki hosting the Olympic Games in 1952.
There was also a series of vintage posters on display which were interesting to view as they demonstrated how marketing has developed and changed its focus over the years.
Last but not least, we were shown into the Candy Forest which was filled with a huge variety of Fazer chocolates and sweets. Our tour guide explained that we could sample as much as we wanted for ten minutes but that it was not permitted to put any in pockets etc. to eat later.
This was great fun and rather than selecting our favourite classic Fazer Blue and Geisha chocolates it was an ideal opportunity to try some new flavours, unsurprisingly, all of which we enjoyed!
Before leaving we were all handed a Fazer goodie bag which included a bakery product, a large bar of the classic Fazer chocolate, a bag of assorted fruit gums and a packet of Domino chocolate sandwich biscuits.
Fazer Cafe Fazerila
Located in the same building is the attractive Fazerila Cafe which is open for breakfast, lunch and weekend brunch. We had arranged to have Sunday brunch at 1.00 p.m. before we took the Experience tour.
Brunch costs €35.90 (£30.20) and includes a superb selection including artisan bread, croissants, granola, cereals, fresh fruit, yoghurts and cheese. I couldn’t resist a bowl of the traditional creamy salmon soup with dark rye bread and Finnish rice pies with egg butter.
There were also prawns, salads, smoked ham, a variety of salads, pancakes, fresh juices, smoothies, coffee and tea on offer. The dessert table was also irresistible with its range of cakes, gateaux, chocolates and biscuits.
Naturally, it’s possible to just visit the cafe but at weekends when it’s very popular I do recommend pre-booking a table on-line to avoid disappointment. Weekend brunch is available at 11.00 and 13.00 each Saturday and Sunday.
Fazer Experience Shop
To round off our visit we browsed the shop which is filled with Fazer gifts, delicacies and souvenirs not to mention their wide range of confectionery.
Overall
We found the Fazer Experience tour to be good value for money and a fun experience suitable for all age groups with plenty of hands on activities and Interactive screens to keep children entertained. Although the tour explained how the confectionery is manufactured, sadly for health and safety reasons it does not include a tour of the actual process. Nevertheless, I believe that everyone enjoyed the tour with our friendly, informative guide who engaged with the group very well. Combining the tour with lunch or brunch makes for a splendid day out as well as providing an opportunity to learn about one of Finland’s most successful companies.
