This is not an end for us, but a beginning. We've seen how much technology can enable.
HKFoods is one of the leading players in Finland’s food industry. Operating nationwide, the company produces a wide range of food products – from pork, beef, and poultry to ready meals. Its products reach Finnish dining tables through both retail and food service channels. HKFoods is known for its strong domestic brands, such as HK®, Kariniemen®, and Via®, as well as its close collaboration with local producers.
A strong presence in Finnish mealtimes comes with responsibility – not only for high-quality and safe production, but also for listening to consumers. HKFoods receives thousands of consumer and customer inquiries annually, and handling them with care is a key part of maintaining business credibility and driving continuous improvement.
"Customer inquiries range from product information and allergy-related questions to complaints and job inquiries,” says Meri Kantoniemi, who is responsible for developing HKFoods’ customer service processes. Feedback provides a valuable window into consumer needs and expectations – but handling it has been labor-intensive and largely manual.
“We’ve long considered how technology could support us in this work and free up our employees’ time for the expert tasks where human presence, judgment and empathy are irreplaceable,” explains Development Manager Helinä Keskinen, who works at the intersection of business and IT. “Sine the volume of inquiries is hard to predict, we’ve been looking for ways to balance the workload during peak periods – while ensuring timely responses."
HKFoods had been considering the use of AI for some time – and once the right partner and solution were found, the company was able to move quickly with a predefined use case.
Efima was selected as the partner for the AI initiative. Its ready-made AI solution was integrated into HKFoods’ Microsoft Azure cloud environment and customer relationship management (CRM) system. The solution leverages Microsoft’s AI platform and is complemented by a Microsoft Power BI report developed to monitor usage and impact.
At the heart of the solution is supporting and streamlining the work of customer service agents. The AI automatically categorizes incoming consumer and customer contacts, retrieves and enriches the necessary information in the systems, and generates a suggested response for the agent – all in line with the organization’s communication guidelines. If personal data needs to be processed, it is always handled in accordance with HKFoods’ data security policies and confidentiality requirements.
“Efima had a solution that didn’t need to be built from scratch. That gave us a clear advantage – with many other potential vendors, we would have had to start from a blank slate,” says Keskinen. She was also impressed by Efima’s service mindset and ability to translate customer needs into technology: “Our needs were listened to carefully, and the discussions were genuinely held in a shared language. That has made the collaboration smooth throughout the project – even for those of us who aren’t IT experts,” adds Kantoniemi.
The solution was implemented in February 2025 – on schedule and without major challenges. HKFoods credits Efima’s support in project management for the smooth rollout.
“Efima had a clear project model and an experienced project lead, which allowed us to move forward efficiently based on their best practices. The fact that the delivery included project management support – not just technical implementation – was a major plus,” recalls Keskinen. HKFoods’ own investment in a skilled and committed project team was also a key factor in the success – active collaboration ensured smooth progress and quick results.
From the start, it was clear to HKFoods that this wasn’t just a technical IT project – it was a business development initiative. “You shouldn’t jump into AI just because it’s trendy. You need to understand the real, everyday challenges first – only then can you consider what technology can add,” Keskinen emphasizes. “Projects like this also require self-reflection: which processes can be improved, and could things be done more intelligently? AI alone doesn’t solve anything.”
Because the technical implementation went smoothly, resources could be directed toward change management. “AI comes with a range of expectations and concerns. Some fear it will take jobs, others expect miracles. Change management needs to address both mindsets – one key lesson for us was to talk about AI as realistically and honestly as possible,” says Sari Vuolle, who represented IT in the project.
“Dialogue with end users was essential – that’s where the best development ideas came from. Even during the pilot phase, we received concrete suggestions for how the solution could be expanded.”
Although the solution has only been in use for a short time, the results speak for themselves:
"The goal was to handle routine tasks with the help of technology, allowing our experts to focus on more complex cases that require investigation – and this goal has been achieved. Whereas previously it could take a couple of days to respond to routine inquiries, they are now often resolved within the same day," says Kantoniemi.
The AI solution has also sparked interest across the organization. Ideas for broader use – such as in other areas of customer service or converting speech to text – are already being explored. “This isn’t the end for us, but a beginning. We’ve seen how much technology can enable, but business needs must always start with people and everyday work. When those are smartly combined with technology, you get truly impactful solutions,” Keskinen concludes.
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