Karl Fazer

Karl Otto Fazer (16 August 1866 – 9 October 1932) was a Finnish businessman, and sport shooter.

He was born in Helsinki and died in Jokioinen. He had four children and was the grandfather of Peter Fazer. His father, Eduard Peter Fazer (originally Fatzer), was a Swiss-born furrier.

Fazer studied baking in Berlin, Paris, and Saint Petersburg before becoming a pioneer of Finnish confectionery. Together with his wife Berta he opened a French-Russian confectionery at Glogatan (Kluuvikatu) 3 in Helsinki on 17 September 1891. Later he opened a chocolate and candy factory in Rödbergen (fi: Punavuori).

Fazer, the company he founded, is still in existence. Many of its products have become classic. This is particularly true of the "Fazer Blue" ("Fazerin Sininen" in Finnish, "Fazer blå" in Swedish), a brand of chocolate that is often compared to salmiakki, as a candy that is a part of the Finnish national identity. The (Swiss) recipe for the Fazer Blue was received into the family as a gratitude to Karl Fazer's son Sven Fazer for taking care of a sick boy. The same recipe has been in use ever since 1922, when the chocolate was introduced to the market in its characteristic blue packaging.