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Five years of Finnish Innovation Index: IKEA is the most innovative company in 2025

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The Finnish Innovation Index (FII) 2025 winner is IKEA with top10 including global brands and Finnish icons: Apple, BMW Group, Uber, Marimekko, Fiskars Group, Normal, Samsung, Airbnb, and Lumene. The latest FII results spotlight how innovation, purpose, and growth go hand in hand.

The FII 2025 winner, IKEA, has consistently ranked among the top 10 most innovative companies in Finland since the FII began in 2021. Its strong innovative performance is echoed also in other countries using the same methodology highlighting IKEA’s sustained commitment to customer-focused and sustainable innovation.

”We are excited for the latest results from the FII – we consider this as important feedback that we are on the right path. Innovation at IKEA is about making everyday life better through smart design, with sustainability and affordability always in mind. We focus on solutions that are practical, inspiring, and accessible to many people. We're proud to lead with purpose — offering real value while caring for people and the planet”, says Timo Hulmi, CEO IKEA Finland.

The FII, developed and conducted by Hanken School of Economics, highlights how Finnish consumers perceive innovativeness of firms across industries. Based on over 12,000 individual responses from 4,300 consumers, the FII provides a unique consumer view of how innovation is perceived by the marketplace.

Professor Kristina Heinonen, initiator and project leader of the FII at Hanken, emphasises that consumers increasingly care not just what companies innovate, but why they innovate.

Our findings show that consumers are skeptical of companies that appear to innovate solely out of self-interest,” says Heinonen. “However, when firms are perceived as motivated by a genuine desire to improve customers’ wellbeing or to address environmental and social challenges, they tend to be perceived as more innovative. In other words, purpose-driven innovation - whether customer-focused or sustainability-oriented - is increasingly valued.”

The FII also ranks companies on social innovation, which reflects the perceived societal or environmental benefits of a firm’s innovations. Firms that rank highest in social innovation include BMW Group, Toyota, Mercedes, Lumene, VR, Fiskars Group, IKEA, Kia, Sokos hotels, and K Group retailers.

Media representatives are welcome to join our event where fresh insights from the FII 2025 are presented. IKEA, Motonet, and Lidl will also share how firms can grow and internationalise through innovation.

Driving growth through innovation
Place: Hanken School of Economics, Arkadiankatu 22, Helsinki
Time: 6.5 at 17:30

If you want to join the event, please register at cers@hanken.fi

Please contact Kristina Heinonen (kristina.heinonen@hanken.fi) if you have any questions regarding the FII or the event.

About

Hanken School of Economics is a leading, internationally accredited university with over a hundred years of experience in education and research in economics and business administration. The research is of a high standard and constitutes the foundation of all teaching. Hanken has close ties to the business community and an active alumni network with over 16 000 alumni in 70 countries worldwide. 

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