Meira places AI at the core of its strategy

Meira, a long-established Finnish food company, chose a systematic approach to integrating AI into its strategy and business processes. The company’s strategic vision is to be the number one player in the industry in the eyes of customers, consumers, and experts alike.

Continuous development and raising the bar are an integral part of Meira’s culture and in today’s world, the significance of AI cannot be overlooked. Meira began exploring the potential of AI for business development a couple of years ago.

“We started by educating ourselves and piloting ways to use AI internally to strengthen our competitiveness. The early phase was eye-opening, but we also realized that for driving a larger transformation, an external perspective could bring valuable added insight,” says Heidi Päiväniemi, Marketing and Sustainability Director at Meira, who is also responsible for strategic planning and facilitation.

“We wanted AI to have a greater impact. That’s why we began to view AI as a strategic component of the business,” adds Harri Kujansuu, CIO of Meira.

Tieto Tech Consulting was selected as Meira’s AI strategy development partner. With Tieto’s guidance, Meira gained a clear vision and a roadmap for the phased deployment of AI across its operations. The roadmap explains how AI is integrated into Meira’s overall corporate strategy and how it supports progress in key strategic focus areas.

What excites Meira about its AI strategy is the unprecedented potential for transformation. AI tools have rapidly reshaped ways of working and organizational culture. Still, this journey is only beginning — and the road ahead leads into the unknown. No one can yet say exactly how work, operating models and business will evolve in the coming years. The only option is to move forward boldly, as Meira has chosen to do.

It is far from self-evident that a long-established, tradition-driven company would fully embrace AI. Meira is a more than 100-year-old coffee and spice company that still operates from its iconic Vallila facility in Helsinki, built in 1935. Meira has a strong market position in Finland: it is the market leader in spices, and holds approximately a 20% share of the coffee market.

Meira’s primary focus is on the domestic market, but it also exports to some extent, particularly to the Baltic countries and the Nordics. The company’s ownership adds an international dimension, as Meira is part of the Italian Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group. Meira currently employs around 180 people — most of them in Vallila, where over 98% of Meira’s products are still manufactured.

“It’s impressive how well we are still able to operate in this building while keeping our operations both efficient and continuously evolving. “The operations are based in an old property, but modern technology is used in the processes,” Päiväniemi says.

AI is one of the most significant drivers of development and the biggest technological shift in decades. “You constantly need to keep pace with technology and explore new opportunities. AI is a journey of transformation — not only for business, but for work itself. The landscape keeps changing,” Kujansuu describes.

With the support of Tieto’s experts, Meira developed its AI strategy and AI development roadmap. The company has since moved forward guided by the jointly defined plans. All business units have been challenged to participate in developing and testing AI-driven opportunities.

“The strategy process facilitated by Tieto was exceptionally well structured and smoothly executed. It was an intensive couple of months, and the outcome was a clear framework for developing AI usage,” Päiväniemi explains.

“Throughout the collaboration, we received strong support and constructive feedback from highly competent consultants. It felt like we were working on something meaningful,” Kujansuu adds.

At Meira, the integration of AI into everyday work is particularly visible in knowledge work, where Microsoft Copilot serves as the primary AI assistant. Copilot supports tasks such as information retrieval, data analysis, content creation, and workflow automation.

Each unit at Meira has appointed a Copilot ambassador responsible for promoting AI usage in different roles — for example, in identifying marketing opportunities.

“At the beginning of the year, the ambassador group launched its first AI solution, the HR agent Meirami. We also have a dedicated AI development team that continuously monitors adoption progress and sharpens our future development outlook,” Päiväniemi explains. “What really matters is not viewing the business solely from the current state. AI enables the creation of entirely new types of tasks and roles,” she adds.