Fazer Finland opens its 100th shop-in-shop bakery

Helsinki / FI. (fg) This month Fazer Finland opened its hundredth shop-in-shop bakery in K-Supermarket Hyrrä, located in Tuusula. Although they operate inside grocery stores, Fazer Shop-in-Shop bakeries are separate bakeries where artisan bakers craft bread by hand almost every day. Fazer Shop-in-Shop bakeries are a unique concept in Finland, and they currently employ more than 550 artisan bakers.

Fresh handmade bread is gaining in popularity in Finland. In addition to a weekend treat, it is also becoming more common as an everyday staple. The artisan and sourdough bread trends are also reflected in Fazer’s shop-in-shop bakery business, which has been growing significantly during the past years. In 2019, Fazer opened 21 new shop-in-shop bakeries in different parts of Finland. Now, the company has reached an important milestone with the opening of its hundredth bakery.

«Many people are delighted when Fazer’s shop-in-shop bakery opens inside their regular grocery store. Who wouldn’t like to buy bread from a store that resembles a charming boulangerie in France? Picking up a freshly baked bread packed in a paper bag and placing it in your shopping basket is one of life’s small pleasures. The bread is as fresh and locally baked as it can get: the distance from the baker’s table to the shopping basket is only a couple of metres. The dough is made from scratch in our bakeries, and the flour comes from Fazer’s own mill in Lahti,» says Markus Hellström, Managing Director at Fazer Bakery Finland.

A growing number of Finnish artisan bakers

As Fazer’s shop-in-shop bakeries become more popular, the number of artisan bakers in Finland is also growing. One shop-in-shop bakery typically employs three to five bakers; however, the largest ones employ as many as 10 to 15 artisan bakers. As bakers were in short supply, Fazer launched a new artisan baker school in early 2018 to offer an apprenticeship-based programme in collaboration with a couple of different educational institutions. The third class of baker-confectioners began their studies this year.

«We wanted to make sure there are enough competent bakers for our shop-in-shop bakeries, so we started the artisan baker school. The baker’s professional skills are enormously important, as everything we do is centred on taste, quality and freshness. It’s important to keep the artisan baker’s profession going strong in Finland,» Hellström continues.

About Fazer Shop-in-Shop bakeries

Fazer Shop-in-Shop bakeries offer artisan bread which is baked on the spot, using Finnish flour ground at Fazer’s own mill. The shop-in-shop bakeries are easily identified by the name Fazer Leipurit, and they are separate bakeries located inside grocery stores. Fazer currently operates 100 shop-in-shop bakeries all over Finland, employing approximately 550 people.