Industry | Fazer is considering replacing milk production with oats in Koria

Food group Fazer is considering closing the dairy business at the Koria factory. The company plans that in the future only oat drinks and other oat-based products will be produced at Koria in Kouvola. Fazer starts change negotiations, which involve 226 employees.

The company estimates that the reduction need would be a maximum of 95 permanent employment relationships. The possible termination of the dairy business would be scheduled for August 2023.

The changes are part of Fazer Lifestyle Foods’ strategy, which aims to utilize the company’s oat expertise and increase plant-based products in the selection.

Fazer says it is the leading oat operator in the Nordics. The company has invested more than 300 million euros in the production of oat products in its home market over the past three years. For example, the production capacity of oat drinks at the Koria factory was doubled last summer.

Dairy production is not Fazer’s core business, and the company mainly manufactures private label products. Achieving competitiveness from small manufacturing quantities is challenging.

“As a small-scale dairy, we are not a competitive operator, and recent inflation has increased our profitability challenges even more. Improving the operation of the Koria factory is necessary to ensure our competitiveness. Discontinuing dairy operations would enable us to focus on our plant-based core business, where the Koria factory will play an important role in the future,” says Kati Rajaladirector responsible for Fazer’s Non-dairy & Dairy business, in the press release.

The Koria factory is located near the town of Kouvola and employs approximately 220 permanent employees. It became part of Fazer when Fazer bought oat product manufacturer Kaslink in 2019. Fazer promises to offer vacant jobs in the group primarily to those employees who would be affected by a possible layoff.