21-Mar-2008 - The Fazer Russia group this week said it has signed an agreement to build a new bakery in Leningrad, as part of the company's ongoing plans to increase its presence in the Russian market.
"The greenfield bakery in St Petersburg supports Fazer's growth strategy and strengthens our position as one of the leading bakery companies in Russia," said Fazer president Karsten Slotte in a statement.

The Finland-based company said earlier this week it has made a €100m investment in the plot of land, where it will construct the bakery to manufacture fresh bread, frozen bread and fresh coffee products.

These products will then be distributed to Fazer outlets throughout Russia, the company said.

Russian bakery market

Fazer's decision reflects a trend amongst bakery manufacturers to move into booming Eastern European markets, where input and labour costs are lower than Western Europe or the US.