The most popular Scandinavian companies in 2025 include familiar names such as Vipps, Lego and Ikea, according to a new Nordic reputation survey that asked more than 20,000 people in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden to rate companies they know.
Nordic survey highlights trusted household brands
The Reputation&Trust 2025 survey, carried out by Reputation and Trust Analytics, measured how people in the Nordic region perceive companies that operate in their own country. Respondents rated organisations on eight dimensions, including corporate governance, financial performance, leadership, innovation, products and services, workplace, responsibility and dialogue, using a scale from 1 to 5. Only nine organisations across the region reached a score of 4.0 or higher, a level the researchers describe as an excellent reputation.
The lists of companies with the strongest reputation in each country are dominated by long‑established brands that many residents see as part of everyday life. These include Ikea in Sweden, Lego in Denmark, Vipps in Norway and Kone in Finland, alongside the state alcohol monopolies Systembolaget, Vinmonopolet and Alko. At the other end of the spectrum, the survey confirms that the ultra fast fashion platforms Temu and Shein have some of the weakest reputations in all four countries.
Vipps and Vinmonopolet top the ranking in Norway
In Norway, the mobile payment service Vipps is ranked as the most trusted company. It achieves a reputation score of 4.12, the third‑highest result anywhere in the Nordic region, just behind Lego and the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk. According to the researchers, crossing the 4.0 threshold means that people see the company as performing well or very well across all key aspects of reputation.
Vinmonopolet, Norway’s state‑owned alcohol retail monopoly, comes second in the Norwegian list with a score of 4.10. The company is described as the strongest alcohol monopoly in the Nordic region, ahead of its Swedish counterpart Systembolaget. The Norwegian top five is completed by Ikea, the dairy cooperative Tine and the airport express train operator Flytoget, underlining how a mix of public institutions, consumer brands and infrastructure services can all enjoy high public trust.
Lego, Novo Nordisk and Danish reputation leaders
In Denmark, Lego sits at the top of the ranking. The toy manufacturer not only leads the national list but also achieves the highest individual reputation score in the Nordic region, at 4.28. The survey suggests that Lego benefits from its image as a creative, educational brand with strong roots in Danish industrial history.
Second place in Denmark goes to Novo Nordisk, the global pharmaceutical group known for its diabetes and obesity treatments. The company has a reputation score of 4.22, which places it just behind Lego in the Nordic comparison. The rest of the Danish top tier includes Ikea, the discount supermarket chain Rema 1000 and the industrial group Danfoss, highlighting the diversity of sectors represented among the most popular Scandinavian companies.
Ikea and Sweden’s mix of public and private brands
In Sweden, Ikea once again confirms its status as a symbolic brand. It tops the national ranking and appears among the most reputable companies across the region, confirming the furniture retailer’s position as a shared Nordic reference point even when it does not lead the list in every country. The survey notes that Ikea is present on the list of highly regarded companies in all the Nordic countries except Finland.
Sweden’s top‑rated companies also include Systembolaget, the state alcohol monopoly, as well as industrial brands such as Volvo, Scania and Saab. Together, they illustrate how Swedish respondents tend to value a combination of public service providers and export‑oriented manufacturers when they think about companies that embody trust, stability and national industrial heritage.
Kone and Finland’s trusted national champions
In Finland, the elevator and escalator manufacturer Kone leads the list of companies with the best reputation. Researchers describe Kone as one of the classic national champions that continue to enjoy broad public confidence. The Finnish list also features Alko, the state alcohol monopoly, alongside other well‑known consumer and industrial brands.
Unlike in the other Nordic countries, Ikea does not currently appear among the top‑rated companies in Finland, even though it was last seen on the Finnish list in 2023. This underlines that while some brands travel well across borders, reputation remains strongly shaped by local market presence and experiences.
Temu, Shein and the companies at the bottom
While the most popular Scandinavian companies are often long‑established brands with strong local ties, the same survey shows that some newer players face serious trust issues. In all four countries, the ultra fast fashion platforms Temu and Shein are placed at the bottom of the ranking, with reputation scores below 2.5. The researchers describe this as a very weak level of trust.
Analysts link these low scores to media investigations into product origins, working conditions and consumer safety, as well as concerns about the environmental impact of ultra fast fashion. The findings suggest that when a company’s reputation falls to such low levels, the problem can move from public relations to politics, opening the door to potential regulatory or policy interventions.
What the survey reveals about trust in Nordic business
The Reputation&Trust 2025 survey indicates that trust in Scandinavian companies is closely connected to how people perceive their long‑term behaviour, not just their marketing. Companies such as Vipps, Lego, Ikea and Kone are rewarded for a combination of reliable services, perceived responsibility and a strong everyday presence in people’s lives.
At the same time, the decline in the reputation of companies like Tesla in the Nordic markets, and the weak scores of Temu and Shein, show how quickly public opinion can shift when controversies raise questions about labour rights, governance or sustainability. For policymakers in the Nordic region and in the European Union more broadly, the survey offers an additional signal of where consumers feel that businesses align – or fail to align – with social and environmental expectations.
Seen from a wider European perspective, the results confirm the importance of trusted brands in small, open economies. The most popular Scandinavian companies are not only commercial actors; they also help shape how the Nordic region is perceived abroad, and how citizens understand the balance between market competition, public regulation and social responsibility.
