Fazer () is one of the largest corporations in the Finnish food industry. The company was founded by Karl Fazer in 1891, as a "French-Russian confectionery" in central Helsinki. Today, it employs over ten thousand people across Finland, Sweden, Russia, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Japan. Its products are exported to almost 40 countries. History Fazer formed a partnership with United Biscuits in its Fazer Keksit (which made biscuits) and UB owned 70 per cent of it until 2000. Fazer has historically acquired several other companies, including the Finnish Chymos and the Danish Perelly. The confectionery line was merged with its Swedish competitor Cloetta in 2000, to become Cloetta Fazer, though the merger lasted only until 2008 before the two brands were separated back to independent companies. Later, Fazer Keksit was sold to Danone. It was renamed to LU Suomi, the entirety of which was bought back by Fazer in 2012 from Kraft Foods Inc. (now Mondelez International) and now operates under Fazer Confectionery. November 2016 saw the opening of a Visitor Centre at their confectionery factory at Fazerintie in Vantaa. The avant-gardist building, in the shape of two circles with a botanical garden at the centre of one of them, was designed by K2S Architects. The Visitor Centre also includes a café, congress wing and shop. In the summer of 2019, Fazer bought the Finnish company Kaslink Foods, which specializes in plant-based foods. According to Fazer, it sought a stronger focus on consumer products through the acquisition and saw growth opportunities, especially in the oat-based products that Kaslink manufactures. Just a few days earlier, Fazer had announced that it would sell its Fazer Food Services restaurant operations to the British Compass Group as part of the company's strategy focused on consumer products. Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Fazer sold its Russian business to bakery firm Kolomenskij. Corporate affairs Business areas and management Fazer employs around 200 people in six countries in group management and shared services. Group management includes communications, legal, HR, finance and treasury, risk management, security, investment management, corporate planning, property management and internal audit. Shared services include IT, accounting and human resources. In March 2014, the Fazer Group was divided into three business areas and two business units. The business areas are Fazer Bakeries, Fazer Confectionery and Fazer Food Services, while the business units are Fazer Cafés and Fazer Mylly. Fazer's production is