Raisio challenged students to develop innovations to promote healthy and sustainable eating – winner chosen at SHIFT Business Festival on 22 May
Raisio plc, press release 23 May 2025
The winner of The Voice of Innovations student co-innovation challenge was chosen at the SHIFT Business Festival. The winning idea was a more sustainable product package — one that is more efficient, user-friendly and accessible for people with special needs. The idea was created by Maksim Novitsky, a student at LAB University of Applied Sciences.
A new kind of innovation challenge for students
At the 2024 SHIFT Business Festival, Raisio launched The Voice of Innovations, a new kind of co-innovation challenge for students to develop innovations that promote healthy and sustainable eating.
This student challenge was organised in cooperation with five Finnish universities. The innovation challenge was facilitated by Chief Innovation Officer Reetta Andolin and Innovation Manager Tuire Wendelin. The partners of the challenge, Häme University of Applied Sciences, the University of Helsinki, LAB University of Applied Sciences, Turku University of Applied Sciences and the University of Turku, organised innovation courses during the year, which Andolin and Wendelin attended to coach the students.
The winner was an idea for a more sustainable product package
The five student teams with the best ideas were invited to pitch their ideas on the SHIFT stage on 22 May in Turku. Maksim Novitsky, a second-year student at LAB University of Applied Sciences, won the competition with his idea for a more sustainable product package — one that is more efficient, user-friendly, and accessible for people with special needs.
The students’ presentations were judged by Reetta Andolin from Raisio, Marita Nummi-Wikström from Turku University of Applied Sciences and Heidi Heikkinen from SHIFT. The winner was awarded a cash prize of €2,000.
Fresh perspectives on food innovation through cooperation with universities
Building a sustainable food system is a monumental task that requires networks, partners and cooperation. From Raisio’s perspective, various networks and co-innovation projects help build a strong innovation culture that taps into the best ideas from both inside and outside the company.
‘The students’ creativity and open-mindedness help us develop new solutions to meet the challenges of the food system. During the year, we have worked with more than 100 students and have been inspired by their fresh perspectives,’ says Tuire Wendelin, Innovation Manager at Raisio.
Cooperation with educational institutions is an important part of Raisio’s innovation activities, and Raisio will further develop its cooperation with Finnish universities in the coming years. The company also sees student cooperation as an important investment in future talent.
‘Working life projects motivate students and prepare them for working life. The challenge from Raisio was topical and motivated the multidisciplinary teams to make use of what they had already learned in their studies. The project utilised service design methods, which, combined with the enthusiasm, courage and innovative abilities of the students, helped the ideas take flight. Our collaboration with Raisio has been inspiring for both students and teachers,’ say HAMK teachers Maria Tammi and Juha Isokangas.
More information:
Reetta Andolin, Chief Innovation Officer
tel. +358 40 669 0824, reetta.andolin@raisio.com
Tuire Wendelin, Innovation Manager
tel. +358 40 552 0229, tuire.wendelin@raisio.com
Raisio plc
At Raisio, we make food from the heart, with the aim of bringing health to ourselves and the Earth. We make a healthier and happier world around us by innovating and winning the hearts of our consumers. We do not work alone; instead, we rely on our cooperation networks at every stage. Our strong brands, such as Benecol® and Elovena®, turn our ambitions into reality. Through our responsibility work, we make the hard choices for consumers, so that they can choose Raisio products with confidence. We have around 350 healthy food colleagues in seven countries and export to more than 40 markets around the world. Raisio's shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. In 2024, the Group’s comparable net sales for continuing operations were EUR 226.8 million and the comparable EBIT was EUR 23.4 million. www.raisio.com
