Many popular Finnish ice cream brands sold by Fazer, Kesko, Lidl, and the S Group are produced under license by Froneri Finland, a subsidiary of the multinational Froneri Group. The parent company continues to operate in Russia, manufacturing ice cream and frozen desserts there—including products that mimic Western brands.
While Finnish retailers and Fazer condemn Froneri Group’s ongoing operations in Russia and say they are working to influence the company to exit the market, they have no immediate plans to change their ice cream suppliers.
Froneri Finland produces all Fazer-branded ice cream, plus some ice creams under Pirkka, Kotimaista, and Gelatelli labels.
Fazer and Finnish retailers emphasize that Froneri Finland is a Finnish company using domestic ingredients and employing locals at its Turenki factory.
However, experts like Anna Hannula from Tampere University highlight the contradiction in condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine while maintaining indirect business ties through Froneri’s parent company.
International voices, such as Agathe Demarais of the European Council on Foreign Relations, state that Western companies still operating in Russia help finance the Kremlin’s war efforts, with billions in profits staying in Russia and providing propaganda value.
Fazer has searched for alternative ice cream producers without Russian ties but found none that can serve Finnish consumers as comprehensively due to the globalized nature of the supply chain and industry concentration.
Last year, Fazer even considered pulling all its ice cream products if no solution was found but decided against it to avoid reducing domestic market options.
Meanwhile, some large companies like Unilever have completely exited Russia under public pressure, but this has not yet been feasible for Froneri or Fazer’s ice cream production.
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