Fazer’s new archipelago style Saaristolaisleipä is an ode to farmers – its grain is grown according to the Fazer Grain vision programme
Fazer starts to bake new Fazer Leipurit Saaristolaisleipä, Finnish Archipelago Bread, in its shop-in-shop bakeries on 15 June. Wheat and rye used in the bread are grown by Fazer’s contract farmers, who take part in Fazer’s Grain vision programme and grow grains sustainably, according to the programme’s principles. The Fazer shop-in-shop bakeries always use Finnish flour in baking.
”The new Fazer Leipurit Saaristolaisleipä is an ode to Finnish rye, wheat and malt – and especially an ode to farmers. We know the grain’s exact origin as we have separated the grains from these specific farms in the grinding process. Normally grains from various farms are mixed in silos, which gives the grain uniform quality,” says Tero Hirvi, Director, Grain Logistics and Purchasing at Fazer Mills.
The bond between the Finnish national feeling and Finnish bread is particularly strong; 88% of the Finns say they highly value farmers’ work, and 81% say that Finnish bread should consist of domestic ingredients.* By introducing the Fazer Leipurit Saaristolaisleipä, Fazer wants to highlight the valuable work of the contract farmers and their daily contribution to sustainable farming.
The wheat used in the Fazer Leipurit Saaristolaisleipä is grown in Jussi Joutsiniemi’s farm in Kangasala, rye in Kari Mutkala’s farm in Koski TL and malt rye in Matti Keltto’s farm in Lapua. The wheat and rye are grown according to the principles of the Fazer Grain vision programme that aims at developing cultivation methods more environmentally friendly.
“As Fazer’s contract farmer I have access to many important tools that help in farming as sustainably as possible and bringing the Grain vision alive with daily choices,” Jussi Joutsiniemi says.
Saaristolaisleipä is baked in every Fazer shop-in-shop bakery by hand from the scratch. Stickers on the bread package provide information on the farmers and their farms. In addition, by scanning the QR code on the packaging, one can find more facts about the Fazer Grain vision programme.
“Fazer has worked closely with farmers already for five decades. Our common goal is to ensure that there will be enough pure and high-quality domestic grain in the future, too. The Grain vision requires long-term cooperation,” Hirvi continues.
The Fazer Leipurit Saaristolaisleipä was created in Fazer Bakery’s internal innovation challenge. The bread will be available in all 132 Fazer shop-in-shop bakeries in Finland as of 15 June 2023.
Towards more sustainable farming – together with the farmers
Food and the way it is grown, produced and consumed has a substantial impact on the environment and on waterways. Fazer works together with Finnish farmers to make farming practices more sustainable: Fazer’s Grain vision sows the future’s harvest.
We aim to decrease CO2 emissions, ensure Finnish food production, and preserve biodiversity. Our common goal is to reduce eutrophication and minimise the use of pesticides and store the carbon to soil: The target of carbon farming is to store carbon to soil, which improves the quality of the soil and preserves its biodiversity.
Our goal is that by 2025 all grain used in Fazer’s consumer products in Finland and in Sweden is grown according to Fazer’s principles of sustainable farming: https://viljavisio.fazer.fi/
Sources: *Rednote, Suuri Leipätutkimus 2023