Less plastic already this Christmas – Fazer reduces plastic in its popular wrapped pralines
Fazer works systematically to find more environmentally friendly packaging solutions all while ensuring that its products keep their excellent quality. The company has already reached significant results as it has reduced its annual use of plastic in packaging by approximately 300,000 kg. Now Fazer embarks on the next phase of its plastic reduction journey. The plastic in the wrapper of Fazer’s wrapped pralines will, starting from the end of 2023, be changed to a thinner alternative. The change will significantly reduce the amount of plastic the company uses in its confectionery production.
Developing the sustainability of packaging, especially packaging of food products, is a delicate topic as it is critical for companies to unwaveringly ensure that the developments support the high quality and safety of the products.
Quality, safety, convenience and shelf life are also the guiding stars of Fazer’s work towards more environmentally friendly packaging. In the end of 2023, the company initiates a packaging material change journey, which will significantly impact its use of plastic in confectionery packaging. The plastic used in the wrapper of Fazer’s popular wrapped pralines – including such familiar and beloved brands as Karl Fazer, Geisha, Fazermint and Dumle to name a few – will gradually be changed into a thinner version. The change does not impact the look and feel, nor the quality of the pralines, but it will save the company up to 40,000 kg of plastic annually.
“Changing packaging materials for more sustainable ones is a demanding process. Our responsibility is first and foremost to ensure the quality of the products, but also, we need to consider sustainability from a holistic point of view. We did extensive testing on our pralines before we decided for reducing the thickness of the plastic by 18%. In addition to the product quality, we need to make sure that the new packaging runs in production as smoothly as the previous one: compromising on production efficiency would be unsustainable. The impact of the change is much more significant than it might sound – twisted pralines are a big category for Fazer and includes some of our most international products. The change will hence not only impact many products, but also many markets, including our growing Travel Retail business” says Katja Santala, Director of Packaging Development and Technology at Fazer Confectionery.
Products wrapped in the new type of packaging material will hit the store shelfs starting from the end of 2023. The first wrapped praline product to undergo the packaging material change is Fazermint, with Geisha following soon after.
Further information:
Liisa Eerola, Vice President, Communications, Fazer Confectionery, tel. +358 44 710 8860, liisa.eerola@fazer.com
Katja Santala, Director, Packaging Development & Technology, tel. +358 41 435 6426, katja.santala@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.
Developing and using more sustainable packaging materials
Caring for the well-being of people and the environment is part of Fazer's heritage and future. Our ambition is to be an innovative leader in whatever we do.
According to our Sustainable packaging vision we promote recyclable, reusable, and renewable packaging materials. We reduce usage of packaging materials while ensuring the high quality of our products. We develop new environmentally friendly packaging. By choosing the right materials we minimize food waste.
We have identified our main development areas and defined clear goals and indicators for them. For us, sustainability is a journey towards a better tomorrow.
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.
Northern Magic. Made Real.
Facts about Fazer’s sustainable packaging journey
Sustainability is integral to Fazer’s strategy and sustainability developments are made within many fields.
Fazer’s extensive work to develop more sustainable packaging solutions is guided by Fazer’s Sustainable packaging vision, which consists of three areas: reducing the amount of used packaging materials, improving recyclability, renewability, and reusability –, and developing entirely new types of ecological packaging solutions by cooperating with external partners.
All Fazer’s packaging is also designed for circular economy: Fazer aims to achieve maximum packaging recyclability by 2025, meaning that all its packaging material can be sorted for recycling, is made of natural materials, and can be kept in circulation as long as possible without wasting it by burning or composting. Already today, 99.8% of Fazer’s packaging can be sorted as recyclable paper, carton, metal, glass, or plastic.
Reducing plastics
Since 2018, Fazer has reduced the use of plastic in its packaging by optimising package sizes and material thicknesses as well as by replacing plastics with other materials. In total, Fazer Group’s annual use of plastic has been reduced by approximately 300,000 kg. In Confectionery, plastic reduction measures have included, among others, optimising confectionery bag packaging sizes and bag types to bag structures that require less plastic, for example, Fazer’s Xylimax chewing gums and selected Kina, Dumle and Marianne bags.
