The European Food Manufacturing Summit 2025: from dairy cooperative to food innovator – the Valeo Story

Innovation has become a defining factor for competitiveness in the food manufacturing sector, yet many companies continue to face obstacles when trying to embed it into everyday practice. Challenges such as organisational silos, resistance to change, and a lack of structured leadership support often stand in the way of new ideas delivering real value.

At the European Food Manufacturing Summit 2025, Dr Kevin Deegan, Valeo’s VP of Innovation, explored these issues in his presentation, “Empowering Every Voice: Developing a Culture of Innovation for Better Impact and Greater Value in Manufacturing.”

His session focused on strategies to activate people and build long-term habits, practical approaches to overcoming barriers to innovation, and ways to strengthen collaboration across teams. He also highlighted the role of leadership in shaping a culture that supports and sustains innovative thinking.

By approaching innovation as both a cultural and organisational challenge, Dr Deegan’s perspective provided a framework for companies looking to align people, processes, and leadership in pursuit of lasting impact and measurable value.

The journey of Valeo, a company founded by Finnish dairy farmers in 1905, is a testament to the power of a culture of innovation. Dr Kevin Deegan shared insights into how the company is moving beyond its traditional identity as a dairy cooperative to become a forward-thinking food company, all while empowering its employees to drive change from the ground up.

A history of innovation
For over a century, innovation has been central to Valeo’s identity. This commitment was solidified when the director of their R&D labs, Dr A.I. Virtanen, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1945. This achievement isn’t just a point of pride; it’s a symbolic foundation for how Valeo approaches its work. With 15 plants across Finland and Estonia — from Helsinki to Oulu, just outside the Arctic Circle — the company’s operations are a massive logistical undertaking, exporting 25% of all food products that leave Finland. That’s about 200 shipping containers a week, packed with products for approximately 50 countries.

The challenge of a mindset shift
While Valeo’s roots are in dairy, its future is in food. This transition, as Dr Deegan explains, is more than just a change in product — it’s a fundamental “mindset shift”. The company is moving into new categories and rethinking its approach to innovation. This is especially challenging when you consider that traditional manufacturing values stability and predictability, while innovation thrives on chaos and uncertainty.

Empowering every employee
Dr. Deegan’s goal is to “democratise innovation” and make it relevant for every single person at the company. He frames it in a simple, relatable phrase: “better every day.” This concept encourages everyone, from the legal department to a factory worker, to consider their role in the company’s progress.

Valeo recognises that the true experts are those on the shop floor. They know their processes better than anyone and are the most valuable source of improvement ideas. The company has implemented an Improvement Initiative Process where employees can submit ideas for savings, new commercial opportunities, or solving current challenges. If an idea leads to a quantifiable saving, the employee is rewarded with a percentage of that saving.

Overcoming inertia
Dr Deegan acknowledges that this type of programme is common, but it often becomes dormant. Valeo’s key insight was that it was only scratching the surface of its employees’ ingenuity. It found that a “black box” process — one that is slow and opaque — kills motivation.

By actively engaging with their manufacturing staff and listening to their stories of on-the-spot problem-solving, Valeo realised there was a wealth of untapped potential. The mission now is to enable and empower these ideas, turning a dormant process into a vibrant engine for innovation and growth.