The Oululainen Pullava brand in focus during Arcada’s and Fazer’s co-operation project

Happy, friendly and social are just a few of the words that characterise the Finnish sweet bread Oululainen Pullava, as shown by a survey conducted by Arcada among 18–24-year-olds for Fazer Bakery. During the autumn, around 40 business administration students at Arcada have been analysing Oululainen Pullava and its brand.

Fazer Bakery knows its products well, but is curious to know what young people think about Pullava, which has been a staple on Finnish coffee tables since the 1970s.

"The task was to analyse aspects such as the personality, packaging, product variants and marketing materials of the Oululainen Pullava brand”, explains product coach Mervi Hernberg, who organised the course in cooperation with lecturer Christel Willför. During the course, the students also developed ideas for new products.

The students worked in teams and analysed the brand from different perspectives and using different methods. Apart from traditional surveys, a couple of teams conducted focus groups interviews, and one group analysed Oululainen Pullava’s online presence using Eyetracking, among other methods.

"The teams are coached through the whole work process”, Mervi Hernberg explains. The students worked with various projects during the course, which ended with a joint presentation event, where all of the groups presented their work to their teachers, the other students and the client, in this case Katri Perälä, the Senior Insight Manager of Fazer Bakery.

Fazer Bakery is happy with the multifaceted study and the students’ enthusiasm and knowledge.

"In this project, not only the students learn. Thanks to the brand analysis, we have gained valuable information about our product and insights into the thinking of young people. We are very happy about the honest feedback that the students have presented to us in a very professional way”, Perälä says. "Working with students was a fresh approach, and we would be happy to do it again."

The students also analysed promotion materials in stores through Mystery Shopping and studied how Oululainen Pullava stands out and attracts attention among competitors’ products in retail spaces.

"By using many different research methods, we create a comprehensive picture of the brand”, Hernberg says.

The analysis of the Oululainen Pullava brand has inspired the students. According to the students, the best thing about the course is that they get to learn about the theme, consumer behaviour, in practice. Working with real cases also gives the students work-related experience of teamwork and communication, among other things.

"And it is nice for our students to work with a well-known brand that many of them have known since childhood”, Hernberg says.

Arcada’s business administration degree programme has long cooperated with Fazer. Over the past few years, Arcada students have, for instance, planned events and campaigns for various Fazer products.

Would you like to cooperate with us?

Are you interested in cooperating with Arcada’s students and experts? Contact business coach Mervi Hernberg (E-mail: mervi.hernberg@arcada.fi) or alumni coordinator Mia Ingman, (E-mail: mia.ingman@arcada.fi), who can tell you more about the possibilities.