In Sweden, a large wave of boycotts started in the summer, when Ukraine blacklisted the confectionery giant that owns Marabou chocolate as a war sponsor.
A very similar pattern can be found for the largest Finnish ice cream brands.
Their owners or manufacturers are the world’s most profitable food companies. Vladimir Putin however, a brutal war of aggression in Ukraine is not a sufficient reason for them to withdraw from the country.
In ‘s survey, the Russian connection can be found in these Finnish or Finnish ice cream brands:
Pingviini, Ingman and Fazer, as well as some of K-stores’ Pirkka ice creams, S chain’s Kotimaista ice creams and Lidl stores’ own ice creams.
The well-known ice cream brands are backed by two multinational giants: Unilever and Nestlé and the ice cream company it owns, Froneri. All of them are still doing business in Russia.
This week Ukraine named As a sponsor of Nestlé’s war of aggression against Russia. Already in July, the authorities maintaining the blacklist imposed the same stamp on Unilever.
– At its most blatant [yhtiöiden toiminta] sending a global message that it is acceptable to do business with war criminals. Do the companies really want to continue this blood-stained operation, asks Ukrainan of the anti-corruption agency manager Oleksandr Novikovwho commented on the matter to .
The traditional Swedish chocolate Marabou is owned by the American company Mondelez. The company came under fire in Sweden because it still operates in Russia.
In this story, we go through how the same pattern repeats itself in traditional Finnish ice creams.
The companies mentioned in the story commented on the matter to before the addition of Nestlé to the list of war sponsors was known.
Froneri doesn’t even call the war in Ukraine a war – a “geopolitical event”
Pingviini, Aino, Classic and Puffet are all ice cream brands manufactured by Froneri Finland.
Many consumers probably think the brands are completely Finnish.
However, the Froneri group is the world’s second largest ice cream manufacturer with operations around the world, including in Russia.
Froner is half owned by the Swiss food giant Nestlé and the French investment company Pai Partners.
Froner has an ice cream factory on the outskirts of Moscow, where close to 400 people work. It manufactures several ice cream products for the Russian market.
The company talks about the Russian attack in rather confusing terms.
It doesn’t even call war a war.
This is an excerpt from the company’s annual report.
“A geopolitical event in Russia and Ukraine.”
This is how the company describes the situation where Russia kills civilians and destroys cities in Ukraine.
The war in Ukraine is clearly an embarrassing issue for Froner.
In the freshest in the annual review Froneri admits that its operations in Russia “may cause reputational damage”.
The Froneri Group has not publicly condemned Russia’s war of aggression. Open condemnation of the war can indeed lead to difficulties in Russia.
On the other hand, several other companies have at least publicly talked about the war. Nestlé, which owns Froner, has taken a stand on behalf of Ukraine, and Unilever and Mondelez, for example, have condemned the war, even though they all still operate in Russia.
Froneri did not respond to ‘s request for comment. Its owners Nestlé and Pai Partners operate in the same way. The group’s Finnish unit also did not agree to an interview with .
Instead, the Helsinki-based communications office sent only a short comment on behalf of Froneri Finland. Managing director Johanna Sewón-Kievarin according to Froner’s Finnish unit is a “domestic operator” whose products are manufactured in Tureng and which has no “business connections” to Russia.
The CEO did not answer ‘s questions about, among other things, the group’s avoidance of war words.
The official who maintains the list of Ukrainian war sponsors was blunt about Froner’s activities.
– Do you want Froneri to be known for ice cream that tastes like blood? Probably not, Novikov, head of the anti-corruption agency NACP, commented on the matter to .
The reluctance to withdraw from Russia is also indicated by Froner’s changes in its products manufactured and sold in Russia.
found new pictures of, for example, the well-known Swiss Mövenpick ice cream. After the start of the war, the name of the ice cream was changed to Monterra in Russia, but otherwise the product looks very much the same. Almost identical copies of many other western brands have been made in Russia since the start of the war.
You can compare the difference in the image below.
Fazer cannot find a new manufacturer to replace Froner
Froneri Finland does not only make its own ice creams. It also manufactures them for Fazer, Kesko, S Group and Lidl.
None of these companies agreed to give an interview on the subject, but only commented on the matter by email.
Froneri Finland is responsible for the sale of Fazer ice creams and pays license fees to Fazer. Fazer tells that it sees the situation as a problem, even though Froneri Finland has no direct connections to Russia.
According to Fazer, it last submitted a petition to the Froneri Group to leave Russia in the summer.
Fazer says that it has considered changing the manufacturer, but it does not appear to be ending the cooperation.
– There are hardly any other domestic players who could produce the current selection for the Nordic market, Fazer explains.
According to him, the situation is also complicated by the fact that the European food industry is highly concentrated, and almost all large companies still have operations in Russia.
The stores do not comment on changing the manufacturer
Froneri Finland manufactures the store’s own brands for S group, Kesko and Lidl. They briefly answered some of ‘s questions.
Director of the S Group grocery store Sampo Top saw stresses that Osuuskauppa does not include any products of Russian origin in its selection. Some of the Kotimaista ice creams are made by Froneri Finland and at least one Rainbow ice cream is made by Froneri’s other subsidiary in Germany.
– Last week, we continued the conversation with Froner and brought out our views on the critical approach to business in Russia, Päällysaho says.
had asked the S group about it on Monday of the same week.
Froneri Finland also produces some of its Pirkka ice creams for Kesko.
Like Fazer, Kesko points out in general that many international companies still do business in Russia.
– We engage in a dialogue with such companies about the situation, also passing on consumer feedback to them, Kesko’s communications respond.
Lidl was the only one that did not even indirectly say in its answer that it considered the connection of two of its ice cream producers to Russia a problem. Kauppaketju was content to say, like others, that it does not sell any products made in Russia.
Kesko, S group and Lidl did not answer ‘s questions about, among other things, whether they see a reason to transfer the production of their ice creams to another manufacturer.
Russian trade expert Kari Liuhdon according to the reasons given by the retail chains and Fazer do not give a good picture of them.
– Here there is an obvious contradiction between responsibility talk and actions, says the professor at the University of Turku School of Economics.
It is likely that it will be difficult to let go of contracts with international giants, Liuhto estimates.
He suggests that Finnish companies should openly say that their international partners do not follow the companies’ ethical principles.
– The least they could do would be that the profits from the sale of this ice cream would be donated to the children of Ukraine. That way, blood money would not be left in one’s own hands.
The manufacturer of Ingman ice creams is also silent
Ingma is thought of as a traditional Finnish ice cream, but the Finnish names that decorate the wrappers of Jättis tuttis and Kingis sticks are no longer familiar to Finnish people.
Ingman’s ice cream is currently owned by Unilever, the world’s largest ice cream manufacturer. The British company manufactures the products in Sweden for the Finnish market.
Last year, Unilever paid tens of millions of euros in taxes to the Russian government. Unilever also has four factories in Russia, two of which are ice cream factories.
Both Unilever and its Finnish unit did not want to comment on the Russian connections to . Both referred in February to the published bulletinin which Unilever talks about the downsizing of its Russian operations and the difficulties of withdrawing from the country.
– If Unilever, one of the world’s largest producers of daily goods, sponsors murder and terror with its tax money, doesn’t that mean that every consumer who buys its products tolerates terror and murder, says Novikov, head of Ukraine’s NACP, to .
Researcher: Boycotts work
In addition to the ice creams of Finnish brands, there are also a huge number of other ice creams and products from Unilever, Nestlé and Mondelez and other giant companies that still operate in Russia.
Consumers can put pressure on them by starting boycotts, says a brand researcher who followed the Marabou debate in Sweden Eva Ossiansson from the University of Gothenburg.
According to him, it is even more effective if national companies remove products from their stores and restaurants.
In the summer, many companies and even entire cities joined the Marabou boycott in Sweden.
Professor Kari Liuhto says that he himself has noticed that in the kitchen and bathroom of his own home there are many products from the manufacturers discussed in this article. According to him, consumers need information on which to make their own purchase decisions.
– The Finnish consumer is responsible and understands what is happening in Ukraine. This will be reflected in ice cream sales next summer if the companies do nothing, says Liuhto.
Do the Russian connections of the products sold in the store affect your purchase decisions? You can discuss the topic until Monday, November 6 at 11 p.m.