Finland-based Fazer Group has taken a majority stake in Russian bakery OAO Volzhky Pekar

The company hopes the purchase will double the bakery's turnover in five years.

 
Fazer Russia is currently making a large investment at the Volzhky
Pekar's bakery in Moscow, with the aim of increasing production volumes by 50
per cent to 75,000 tonnes per year. The focus will be on fresh bread and
pizzas. The company will also invest in developing Volzhky Pekar's bakery
in St Petersburg to expand its current range of baked goods. Volzhky Pekar
bakes 45,000 tonnes of bread, 5,000 tonnes of bagles and 5,000 tonnes of
different flour confectionery products. Volzhky Pekar's turnover was €32m in
2006.

Bakery operations in Russia have grown 39 per cent annually
over the previous three years.
Fazer Group's  other subsidaries include Fazer Bakeries,
operating in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, Fazer Amica, a contract catering
company in the Baltic countries, and CandyKing, a pick and mix
confectionery business operating in the Nordic countries, the UK and the Baltic
states.