Fazer to build world-class visitor centre in Vantaa

Helsinki / FI. (fg) Fazer Group has commenced construction of a new visitor centre on its factory area in Vantaa that will be unique in Finland. The corner stone of the building was laid in September and the building is planned to be completed in the autumn of 2016, coinciding with the 125th anniversary of the creation of the company.

Fazer has a long tradition of welcoming visitors. Visitor operations started over 60 years ago when the confectionery factory still was located on Tehtaankatu Street in Helsinki, and continued after the factory moved to Vantaa. Today, Fazer is one of the capital region’s most popular destinations – some 50’000 people visit it every year, and even more wish to come. Due to the great popularity of the visits, Fazer has started to build a new visitor centre to be able to offer a better visitor infrastructure for the steadily growing numbers.

The visitor centre, to be completed in the autumn of 2016, will create an even more experimental visitor offer, directed at all the senses. Visitors will be able to acquaint themselves with what Fazer is: Fazer’s operations, wide range of products, long history, corporate responsibility and innovations. In addition, well-being and healthiness are some of the main themes in the visitor centre’s architecture, visitor experience and workshops. In the workshops, Fazer’s experts will teach visitors, for instance, how to make a perfect loaf of bread or how to plan future school meals.

«The new centre will facilitate the receipt of the increasing visitor numbers. Currently we, unfortunately, cannot accept all those who would be interested in coming. The new building will also help us create an even more experimental and educational brand experience. We will be able to illustrate, in completely new ways, how our raw materials travel or the stories related to our brands, to name a few. We also want to serve international visitors to a greater extent’, says Ulrika Romantschuk, Fazer Group’s SVP, Communications and Branding.

New visitor centre to be built by Finns

Fazer’s new visitor centre is also an investment in Finnish design and work. The centre was designed by the architect firm K2S, known for having designed the “Chapel of Silence” in Kamppi. The Finnish construction company SRV was elected to perform the construction work. The visitor experience will be designed by Ateljé Sotamaa from Finland.

Romantschuk: «We want to tap into Finnish know-how in the execution of the centre. The architects’ vision reflects our brand very well, combining high quality and passion for customer. Respecting nature, the architecture inspires to enjoy, and the experimental character of the centre will offer everyone a chance to form their own visitor experience. The visitor centre will become the emblem of Fazer, being the first thing visitors will see and an experience we hope they will remember long» (Image: Fazer Group).