Fazer renews children’s snack selection and introduces a healthier product family

Fazer responds to parents’ wishes by introducing the new Fazer for Minis product family to the market in the spring of 2021. At Fazer, product development is strongly based on consumer needs and innovation lies at the heart of its business. The first products to be launched include cereal, chips and milk drinks developed especially for children’s taste and with special attention paid to the amount of salt, sugar and fibre.

“Almost every third Finnish parent has a guilty conscience about serving unhealthy snacks, and 40 per cent would like to offer healthier and tasty options for their children¹,” says Erika Aaltonen, Brand Manager at Fazer.

Fazer develops new products to meet consumer needs. The idea of the Fazer for Minis product family, including healthier snack products for children while never compromising on taste, arose in the company’s internal innovation competition.

“Snacks are an integral part of the lives of families with children. No matter how healthy the products are, children won’t eat them if they don’t like the taste and structure,” states Aaltonen, a mother of three herself.

The first new items of the Fazer for Minis product family will arrive in the shops during this spring. They will include healthier cereal, milk drinks and chips. Every product has two different flavour options.

“We’re already developing the next delicious products for this product family and will introduce even more Fazer for Minis products to the shops later this year,” promises Aaltonen.

Salt, sugar and fibre under scrutiny

According to research, the diet of pre-school-aged Finnish children contains too much salt and saturated fat, and there is a demand for healthier and convenient children’s snacks in Finland¹.

“Parents are aware that sugar is harmful, but they are still not paying enough attention to hidden salt. Establishing healthy food and eating habits in childhood lays a foundation for wellbeing as an adult,” states Marika Laaksonen, PhD in Food Sciences and Lead in Health at Fazer.

A regular eating rhythm and balanced meals help maintain blood sugar levels, which means the child will stay alert and have energy for their daily activities.

“We talk about the brain-friendly Fazer Brainhow food. The Fazer for Minis products add good-quality energy to snack time and contain nutrients that are beneficial for the brain. In addition, the cereal and drinks have been granted the Finnish Heart Association’s Heart Symbol, which means they are better nutritional choices in their category.”
 

Fazer for Minis products in the spring of 2021

Fazer for Minis Oat Chips 150 g

• Flavour options: Sour Cream & Onion and Taco.
• The products are made at Fazer’s crispbread bakery in Lahti in Finland, using Finnish oats. 
• The products are high in fibre (Sour Cream & Onion 10%, Taco 9.4%).
• The Sour Cream & Onion flavour contains 6.9% sugar, but only 2% added sugar. The Taco flavour contains 5.5% sugar, but only 3% added sugar.
• The salt content is only 0.7%.
• Milk and lactose-free

Fazer for Minis Oat Stars 400 g

• Fazer for Minis Oat Stars is a cereal suitable for breakfast or to be enjoyed as an afternoon or evening snack.
• They are also perfect for small lunchboxes and to be snacked as such. 
• Flavour options: oats and cocoa.
• Made of Finnish grains at Fazer’s own mill in Sweden. 
• The products are high in fibre (Oat Stars Cocoa 7.3%, Oat Stars 6.3%).
• The products contain a total of 15 g of sugar, some of which comes naturally from the grain.
• The salt content is only 0.8%.
• The Finnish Heart Association’s Heart Symbol
• Milk and lactose-free

Fazer for Minis Milk Drink 2.5 dl

• Flavour options include cocoa and mango.
• The milk is from Finland. In the mango-flavoured drink, 96% of the ingredients are Finnish, and in the cocoa-flavoured drink, 98% of the ingredients are Finnish.
• The products are made at Fazer’s factory in Koria, Finland. 
• The mango-flavoured drink contains no added sugar, only the natural sugar of the fruit and milk. The cocoa-flavoured drink has a sugar content of 6%, but only 1.2% of it is added sugar. Most of the sugars come naturally from milk.
• The salt content is only 0.1%, and it comes naturally from the milk. 
• The Finnish Heart Association’s Heart Symbol
• Lactose-free

Sources:

¹ Snack study, Foodwest 03/2018, n=324
² Dagis research project, Samfundet Folkhälsan and the University of Helsinki, 2019 

Pictures:

fast.fazer.com – Public Image Bank – Media_Press – Finland – Fazer for Minis

Further information:

Anniina Niemistö, Communications Director, Fazer Bakery Finland, tel. +358 40 674 4672, anniina.niemisto@fazer.com
The Fazer media phone line is open Mon–Fri from 8 am to 4 pm, tel. +358 40 668 2998, media@fazer.com 

Fazer Group

Fazer, The Food Experience Company, enables people to enjoy the best moments of their day. In 1891, the young Karl Fazer opened his first café with a mission to make food with a purpose – and a passion to create moments of joy for all the people around him. Shaping the next tastes, traditions and food experiences, Fazer is going Towards Perfect Days. Fazer wants people to experience the Northern Magic it creates and builds on its strong heritage, consumer first approach and innovations to create the sustainable food solutions of the future. The Group focuses on fast-moving consumer goods, operates in eight countries and exports to around 40 countries. In 2019, Fazer Group had net sales of 1.1 billion euros and almost 9,000 employees. Fazer’s operations comply with ethical principles that are based on the Group’s values and the UN Global Compact.

Northern Magic. Made Real.       

Tags: