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

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.

Since its inception in 2021, the FII has demonstrated that Finnish companies are broadly recognised as highly innovative, with leaders across sectors like fashion, design, and lifestyle, food, and technology. The focus on sustainability and eco-friendly initiatives, everyday relevance, and responsiveness to consumer needs continues to resonate with the public. While innovativeness has varied slightly over the years—with a peak in 2022—Finland remains second in the Nordics, after Denmark, for consumer-perceived innovativeness.

The results of the FII 2025 were presented at the event Driving growth through innovation at Hanken 6.5.2025.

Text: Kristina Heinonen and Marlene Günsberg
Photo: Matilda Saarinen