4 ways how employer branding has helped Foodello–Fiksuruoka achieve business success

Foodello–Fiksuruoka is a Finnish e-commerce company fighting against food waste operating in Finland, the Netherlands and Belgium. With offices in Helsinki and Amsterdam, they have a team of around 50 employees, they have grown steadily while driving innovation and profitability.

For 2025, their focus is clear: steady, measured growth and maintaining profitability in all markets. Achieving this requires not only operational excellence but also ensuring they have the right people in the right roles to drive their mission forward.

In 2022, Foodello–Fiksuruoka decided to collaborate with TalentBee and start investing strategically in employer branding to align its talent strategy with its ambitious business goals. With revenue of 13,6M€ achieved in 2023, their decision has added tremendous value to the organization in terms of cost savings, talent acquisition, retention, and overall team culture.

Here’s a look at 4 key successes that Fiksuruoka has achieved through investing in strategic employer branding for two years and how a strong employer brand has helped the company grow.

4 key successes that Fiksuruoka–Foodello has achieved through investing in strategic employer branding

#1 Recruitment agency costs entirely wiped out

One of the most immediate and tangible wins from Foodello–Fiksuruoka’s EB strategy has been the elimination of external recruitment costs. By 2024, external recruitment agency costs had been entirely wiped out. Previously, Fiksuruoka had depended on costly headhunting services, which drained resources.

“This marks a massive change for us. The savings have been undeniable. Not just in terms of money, but in time and energy. By investing in our employer branding, we’ve freed up resources that could be channeled into other areas of business growth”, says Jessica Lång, Head of People at Fiksuruoka.

This achievement alone highlights the value of EB as a long-term investment that pays off on the bottom line.

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#2 Hiring top talents through inbound – without headhunting

Employer branding has made Foodello–Fiksuruoka a known and attractive employer in its target markets, which has had a direct impact on the quality of its talent pipeline. One of the best examples of this are their recent hires to Product Manager and Head of People roles (Jessica’s parental leave cover), which were made entirely through inbound applications.

“I remember thinking, ‘Why are these amazing candidates choosing us?’ That has been one of the biggest and most concrete values of employer branding. People now know what we offer: an impactful mission, a collaborative environment and opportunities for learning”, Jessica shares about her observations during the recruitment process.

Employer branding has also streamlined their recruitment process, transforming how they connect with candidates.

“It’s become so much easier to kick off interviews and the recruitment process because applicants already have a solid understanding of who we are and what we do,” Jessica explains. Many candidates have specifically highlighted the impact of Foodello–Fiksuruoka’s career pages, leading to deeper, more productive recruitment conversations.

“In recruitment processes, I don’t have to overexplain who we are anymore. Candidates come in already understanding our values and wanting to be part of it”, Jessica says.

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#3 Internal pride and employee advocacy

Beyond its external impact, Fiksuruoka’s EB strategy has significantly boosted internal alignment and pride. Their employees have become active ambassadors, proudly sharing their expertise on social media, participating in sharing their career stories and learnings and even proactively suggesting content ideas on what to post about.

“It’s been amazing to see how our team has embraced this. From the beginning, our starting point and important focus has been our internal audience – our team. That’s because employer branding is not just about attracting talent. It’s about making our team feel proud of what they’re part of. That’s a win in itself”, Jessica reflects.

"One of the key aspects of our employer branding success has been involving the team in content creation. We start by building trust – getting to know them and lowering the bar for participation. Together, we explore their growth stories and work collaboratively to create content they are proud of. It’s all about listening to their ideas, telling authentic stories from our daily life, and showing what it’s really like to work at Foodello–Fiksuruoka. This approach has made employer branding authentic and deeply connected to their culture", says Nea Raaska, Employer Branding Strategist who has been working with the team for more than two years.

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#4 Sustainable foundation for long-term business growth

Perhaps one of the biggest successes of Foodello–Fiksuruoka’s employer branding efforts is how they’ve been able to align their talent strategy with their overarching business objectives. By drastically reducing recruitment costs, and fostering a united internal culture, Fiksuruoka has established a sustainable foundation for long-term growth.

“TalentBee has been instrumental in helping us and the leadership team understand that employer branding isn’t for ad-hoc recruitment, it’s a long-term investment. Their support has been critical in building internal buy-in and driving this forward”, Jessica shares.

The data-driven results TalentBee helped deliver – like cutting recruitment costs to zero in 2024 and bringing in qualified inbound candidates – have further reinforced the leadership team’s commitment to employer branding as a strategic priority.

”The most important measure for us was seeing how the money spent on recruitment agencies started to drastically decrease. It was a clear signal that this investment was the right one, allowing us to redirect funds toward other business areas”, Jessica says.

"I’m incredibly proud that through employer branding, we’ve been able to reduce recruitment costs and hire the critical talent needed, exactly when it’s been required. This has supported Foodello–Fiksuruoka’s impressive growth in Finland and the Netherlands. Additionally, we’ve been able to support the people team in achieving their goals, as they’ve led a culture that is undeniably one of Fiksuruoka’s greatest strengths. It’s been amazing to be part of this journey, watching them scale significantly over the past few years", Nea, EB Strategist says.

Through the long-term collaboration, the collaboration team has also been able to deeply understand and define what kind of employer Foodello–Fiksuruoka truly is, what kind of talents thrive there, and communicate to this audience.

“By leading a systematic and strategic employer branding process, we’ve made it a routine part of daily operations – ensuring consistent visibility across social media for two years. This steady approach has strengthened awareness among the talent we want to attract. The results of this continuous effort are clear, and as we maintain this momentum, future recruitment will become even easier. Employer branding follows the same principles as customer marketing – it’s all about staying top-of-mind”, Nea says.

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Final thoughts: why should a growing company invest in employer branding?

Fiksuruoka’s story highlights the critical role employer branding plays for growing businesses – not just in recruitment, but across all aspects of talent management. From reducing costs to improving the candidate experience and even retention, employer branding has provided tangible and strategic business value.

“If we hadn’t invested in employer branding, we’d be in serious trouble. We wouldn’t be known as an employer, our recruitment costs would still be higher, and we’d be spending so much more time trying to explain ourselves to potential candidates. It’s hard to envision succeeding in our recruitment without this”, Jessica says.

For businesses in high-growth industries such as SaaS and technology, employer branding is essential for driving growth, building a strong talent pipeline, and creating a thriving work culture that aligns with long-term business goals.

Want to know more about our collaboration? Take a look at our previous case stories:

👉 Why and at what growth stage did Fiksuruoka – Foodello decide to start investing in Employer Branding?

👉 Business value from employer branding: Foodello–Fiksuruoka's journey with TalentBee

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