Fazer innovates to remove palm oil from products – beloved classics lead the way
Fazer is committed to developing the sustainability of its products, and sustainable raw materials play a key role in that work. For Fazer, sustainable sourcing means continuously developing the basic requirements for all suppliers while paying extra attention to chosen raw materials such as cocoa or palm oil. Whereas Fazer has taken a leap in the sustainability of the palm oil it uses, it also continues innovating to remove palm oil from its products and to replace it with other ingredients with better nutritional or environmental features.
Fazer acknowledges the substantial impact that the way food is grown, produced and consumed has on people’s well-being, on the environment, and on society, and one of the company’s strategic priorities is to develop food as a solution for a more sustainable planet and business. Therefore, the company constantly looks for solutions to improve the sustainability of its production and products. As the sustainability of raw materials is integral to the sustainability of the products, Fazer has developed an extensive set of requirements to suppliers. The basic requirements apply to all suppliers wanting to do business with Fazer, but Fazer puts extra focus on chosen raw materials such as grain, cocoa and palm oil. In addition to taking action to ensure the sustainability of the palm oil it uses, Fazer also innovates to remove palm oil from its products and explores ways to increase the use of fats, oils and other ingredients that would be better accepted by consumers and that have better environmental footprint or nutritional quality than palm oil.
Fazer refines products to remove palm oil
Consumers have become increasingly aware of the downsides of palm oil and have raised especially environmental concerns related to it. To respond to this consumer demand, Fazer works decisively to explore solutions for decreasing the use of palm oil. In 2022, Fazer used, in absolute figures, 58% less palm oil than in 2019. The significant change was mainly due to Fazer’s exit from the Russian operations, as palm oil was more widely used in the Russian bakeries, but also, to product development.
“The sustainability of the replacing raw material is integral. To develop the sustainability of our products, we cannot exchange palm oil for an ingredient which is less sustainable, simply to remove palm oil. Palm oil has not only excellent technological properties, but it is also highly productive and requires less land than any other crop to produce oil. At the same time, we want to keep the delicious taste, texture and mouthfeel of our products. When it comes to removing palm oil, one size does not fit all, and Fazer investigates different solutions for different products, all while ensuring that the taste profile does not change”, says Heli Anttila, VP, New Product Development at Fazer Confectionery.
Confectionery products go palm oil free
Fazer Confectionery has committed to removing palm oil from its confectionery and biscuit products by 2024. Whereas the classical Wiener Nougat was one of the first products to under-go the recipe change to remove palm oil, Geisha, which is one of Fazer’s most international chocolate brands, was the next in line. The replacement of palm oil with cocoa butter in the biggest Geisha variant, the original Geisha nougat filling, started in autumn 2022. The Nigerian cocoa butter that is used is sustainable and traceable to the farm level, and the sourcing practises, including cocoa production and trade, are third party verified. During 2023, all Geisha variants will become palm oil free.
Another classic to have become palm oil free is Fazer Domino, which celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2023. Domino is Fazer’s best-selling and most popular biscuit of all time, and since spring 2022, the classic Domino biscuits have been baked without palm oil. In the end of 2022, 96% of all Fazer’s biscuit products were palm oil free.
Popular Pullava charms its way into a palm oil free future
Fazer is also taking steps to remove palm oil from its bakery products. The cheerful Pullava is the most popular sweet loaf in Finland and has been on the market since the 1970’s. Starting late April 2023, all Pullava sweat loafs will be completely palm oil free. Most of the current palm oil will be replaced with rape seed oil, and some Pullava loafs with vanilla crème filling will also include coconut fat.
Fazer uses only sustainable palm oil
Palm oil is a vegetable oil obtained from the fruit of the palm tree, and it is the most widely used vegetable oil in the world. Palm oil has excellent technological properties as it is a naturally hard fat, making it a highly suitable ingredient in the food industry, replacing the use of industrially hardened fats that may include unwanted trans fats. It is also highly productive and requires less land than any other crop to produce oil. As a member of Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, RSPO, Fazer is committed to only using sustainably produced and RSPO certified palm oil. In 2022, all palm oil used by Fazer was RSPO certified and the share of segregated palm oil – that is, palm oil that has been kept separate from conventional palm oil all through the value chain – reached 98%.
With the rapid expansion of the palm oil industry, the environmental and social challenges associated with palm oil have increasingly become a concern to many consumers. Of the total amount of palm oil produced globally on an annual level, only some 20% is RSPO certified. Fazer is constantly putting R&D efforts to develop sustainable and healthy food products, and as part of these efforts, is also exploring ways to replace palm oil in its products with other ingredients with better environmental or nutritional characteristics than palm oil.
Read more on Fazer’s work on palm oil: https://www.fazergroup.com/sustainability/sustainable-sourcing/other-ingredients/palm-oil/
Additional information:
Liisa Eerola, Director, Communications, Fazer Confectionery,
tel. +358 44 710 8860, liisa.eerola@fazer.com
Fazer serves the media by phone Mon–Fri from 8 am to 4 pm,
tel. +358 40 6682 998 and at media@fazer.com
Fazer Group
Fazer, The Food Experience Company, enables people to enjoy the best moments of their day. Our mission, Food with a purpose, builds on our strong 130-year heritage, consumer first approach and innovations to create the sustainable food solutions of the future. With our dedicated team of approximately 5,000 professionals, we focus on fast-moving consumer goods and our direct-to-consumer business in Northern Europe, and beyond with exports to some 40 different countries. Fazer’s operations comply with its Code of Conduct that is based on the Group’s values and the UN Global Compact. In 2022, Fazer Group had net sales of 1.1 billion euros.
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