Getting to know the daily work of a large enterprise led to an internship at Estonia’s largest food company

Published March 2022

Kristi Ivainen is a first-year marketing student at Estonian Entrepreneurship University of Applied Sciences (Mainor). As the owner of her own small business, she feels that studying marketing will be highly beneficial for her professional future. For her mandatory university internship, Kristi chose to join Rakvere meat processing plant.

“The goal of the internship was to get to know the daily operations of a large enterprise—to see how a company functions and operates,” Kristi explains, adding that it was an observational internship. “My aim was to complete my internship in a company that has all the key departments represented (finance, marketing, etc.)—essentially as large an organization as possible—in order to gain maximum insight into how a big company works and to broaden my perspective.”

The sparkle in our employees’ eyes

Before coming to the company for her internship, Kristi had heard of the company and was also familiar with the Rakvere brand, as she had already been consuming Rakvere products on a daily basis. However, she did not, for example, associate the Tallegg brand with its parent company.
“Before starting my internship, I honestly had no idea of the actual scale of the company, and I was worried that I would be a burden or a nuisance to everyone there. It is well known that large companies have a lot of work and little time. I was also concerned that, due to the lasting effects of remote working and the Covid-19 pandemic, I would not get the internship experience I had hoped for.
In reality, I got much more than I could have expected!” she says happily. “Everyone was incredibly helpful, their eyes were shining, and they spoke about their work with genuine enthusiasm. I would especially highlight Marketing Director Janne Laik-Lõhmus in this regard.
I am also very grateful to Sigrid, the Management Board Assistant, who was my mentor and a real pillar of support – she introduced me to people, helped me, talked things through with me, and worked alongside me.
I also got to see the production side of the business and visit the poultry farms, and I have to say that the people there also genuinely enjoyed introducing me to their work – someone who had never visited places like these or had any previous experience with poultry farming. They conveyed their enthusiasm incredibly well!
And I found it fascinating to see how the products I consume every day are made and how much work goes into bringing those products to life.”

Production and chicks

Kristi’s internship lasted 1.5 months, split between the Loo office near Tallinn and the Rakvere office. She admits the company’s size was intimidating at first. “At the beginning, the functioning of such a large enterprise seemed very complicated. But once I got familiar with the structure and daily operations, everything became logical and understandable. My coolest internship memory was definitely seeing the chicks at the poultry farm, as well as getting to know the production side. Since I had no prior experience with large companies, this was an amazing experience for me,” she recalls enthusiastically.

When asked about her favorite products, Kristi immediately names Rakvere Chilli Pork Jerky, as well as Rakvere minced meat products. As a fan of chicken, she adds: “I could say that almost all Tallegg products are also my favorites.”

In the future, Kristi would like to pursue a career in marketing or, at the very least, make the most of the knowledge and skills she has gained through her studies and internship to develop her own business, Ilubutiik in Rakvere.
“My biggest ambition is to become a marketing manager at a company one day, but I know that it takes a lot of time and experience,” she says, clearly focused on her goal.
What motivates Kristi to study is the desire to make a difference in life and get the most out of her education. Kristi is also a mother of two young children, and she highlights working out as her main hobby, as physical activity helps her maintain a healthy balance between work and personal life.