Fazer's Christmas 2024

This post is an informative journalistic coverage of a PR event with editorial & reportage elements that do not aim to promote any business, organisation, product or service.

Today - on the day of publication- I am a member of Ruokatoimittajat ry (Finnish Food Writers' Association), and attended this PR event as a food writer (not as an influencer).

27 november 2024 - helsinki

This day started relatively early in order to arrive to central Helsinki and attend Fazer's Christmas breakfast at their beautiful venue, Fazer Café Kluuvikatu.

This is the first time I attend this event but I clearly sensed the vibes of tradition surrounded by local food writers, influencers, media professionals and the brand's representatives.

The agenda started with a hearty breakfast with live saxophone music in the background, and I felt the Christmas spirit slowly filling everyone's mood with joy for the day! The generous breakfast buffet offered many delicious choices:

Fazer Christmas oatmeal, cinnamon and sugar
Fazer Aito oat groats & Fazer Alku muesli and granola
Fazer Christmas bread and spread
Fazer Café's archipelago bread, lemon crème fraîche and cured domestic rainbow trout
Fazer Aito Christmas orange chocolate mousse
Fazer Gingerbread
Cheeses and Fazer Pihlaja and Vihreitä Kuulia fruit spreads
Fazer Luumu-unelma plum pie
Fazer confectionary
Fazer handmade Christmas truffles and caramels
Fazer Blend coffee and tea
Fazer Aito Oat Drink Barista
Mulled wine, almonds and raisins

After the breakfast the event continued with informative presentations by Marika Laaksonen - Lead in Health Research, Senior Manager in Nutrition- and Katri Perälä - Senior Insight Manager at Fazer Bakery & Confectionery. The new national nutrition recommendations of Finland have been published today. Among other nutritional guidance for different consumer groups, the importance of whole grains' role in our diet has been highlighted and the intake recommendation has been updated to 90 grams per day. Marika and Katri provided further insights on the topic.

Whole grains offer powerful health benefits, supporting heart health, aiding digestion with fiber, and boosting energy levels through magnesium. They also promote muscle maintenance, strengthen the immune system with iron, and enhance the health of skin, hair, and nails thanks to zinc. As a nutrient-rich and sustainable energy source, whole grains are a simple way to improve overall well-being.

A typical Finnish breakfast often includes whole grain products like bread, porridge, and granola. According to the research data in today's presentations, bread remains a core ingredient for most Finns: 74% eats bread every day and 88% recognising bread as a key source of fiber. There is a growing preference for rye and oat varieties, but the whole grain bread consumption remains steady, with some increase among older age groups.

Finland’s whole grain consumption is in the Nordics' higher bracket, but it still falls 30-40 g short of the new, 90 g/day recommendation. People may avoid whole grains because they think they don’t taste good or are tricky to prepare - but these obstacles could be swiftly eliminated by making whole grain products more affordable, easier to find, and raising awareness of their health benefits along with the sustainability factor that comes with their lower environmental footprint.

Fazer offers several whole grain products across different product categories in order to help consumers in their conscious and healthy meal planning, such as

the Fazer Alku product family (porridges, cereals, muesli and granolas), and
the wide range of whole gran breads of Fazer Bakeries - including Reissumies, Jälki Uuni. and my personal favourite, the Puikula bread.

Photo by © Reka Csulak - Three Pod Studio

I had the pleasure to attend this PR event and spend an insightful morning in a festive mood with Fazer.

You can learn more info about Fazer's wholegrain products here + see more insights and photos on my Instagram.

Thank you so much to Fazer for inviting me to this event. I also appreciate the opportunity to meet and learn directly from Tarja Kuusela, Anniina Niemistö, Marika Laaksonen, Katri Perälä, Reeta Kylänpää, Taina Lampela-Helin and Teija Lehtonen who represented the brand today.

DISCLOSURE

The organiser has not set any special criteria and has not initiated any financial/alternative compensation that would require the creation of any written or visual content related to this PR event nor the promotion of any products/services in exchange for attendance - but I decided to share my experience anyway as I think you'd enjoy exclusive insights from my recent gastro adventure. Any PR products/samples/food, drink/services/raffle prizes handed out by the organisers, other participants or exhibitors (if applicable) were not a form of compensation, nor part of an exchange agreement.