Five from Finland
Summertime ideas
Looking for things to do this summer? Look no further.
Julia BushuevaSummer is here again! For all of those people living in the northern hemisphere, it’s time to celebrate the long-awaited sunny days and get inspired by this Finnish quintet of summertime ideas.
In Finland, the land of the Midnight Sun where summer days are virtually endless, there is no lack of delightful ways to keep oneself entertained throughout the summer months.
Enjoy the summer to the full and all the fun that comes with it with these five Finnish brands.
Ask a Finn what makes a perfect weekend at a summer cottage aside from food, sauna and dips in the lake, and the answer will be playing Mölkky. This easy-to-learn skittle-throwing game offers players a great opportunity to enjoy the outdoors with friends and family in a fun and laid-back manner.
A Finnish invention, Mölkky has been growing in popularity in other parts of the world as well and even has its own annual world championship tournament. Tactic, the company that currently owns the rights to the trademark, sees huge global potential for Mölkky, as the game has universal appeal while staying true to its Finnish roots.
“It’s not high tech, yet it’s ecological and somewhat exotic,” explained Tactic’s sales director, Juha Nieminen. “The materials from pure Finnish nature and a simple approach to spending time outdoors with friends are universally appreciated.”
Butterflies are not only a wonderful sight in summer, but also pollinators that play an essential role in guarding nature’s biodiversity. With the butterfly population in Europe declining alarmingly in the past few decades, this ecological design company is doing its part in bringing butterflies back to our gardens.
Belightful Design’s core product, Butterfly Oasis, is an award-winning feeder made from an oil-free and bio-based recyclable material. Filled with nectar and hung in a garden or on a balcony, Butterfly Oasis is a beautiful and meaningful way to support nature.
Helping butterflies to survive is a big thing for Belightful Design, but in the future the company is planning to expand its product portfolio with more eco-friendly designs.
“We believe the wellbeing of people and nature are closely interlinked,” said co-founder and CEO Miia Liesegang. “We aim to launch further products that improve this connection.”
Grilling outdoors is a summer staple, and here in Finland the love for barbequing is so overwhelming that BBQ grills can be borrowed from libraries. The next time you fire up the grill to cook that mouth-watering food, consider a quality sauce to boost rather than hide the taste.
Founded a few years ago by food idealist Kaius Gestranius, Jävla Sås Bolag offers a range of additive-free sauces that have made quite a splash among both BBQ enthusiasts and kitchen professionals. Having been proven as a great business gift as well, the sauces also leave room for the natural flavours of whatever is being barbequed.
“There are so many things one can do with just the core ingredients, so there’s really no need to add stuff just for texture or colour,” noted Gestranius.
As the warm summer season is ramping up, more and more people are heading to the water to cool down. This Finnish fashion brand has something special for those planning to update their beachwear wardrobe. Halla Halla bikinis and one-pieces not only look chic and are comfortable to wear, but are also designed with the environment in mind.
The brand uses a fabric made of recycled plastic waste from bottles, bags and fishing nets, collected from landfills and oceans all over the world. The brand’s founders, Hanna Chalvet and Salla Valkonen, design all the pieces themselves, and the swimsuits are ethically manufactured at a factory in Bali, Indonesia.
“It was clear to us from the start that we wanted to combine eco-friendliness and fashion in our swimsuits. These were two things we didn’t want to compromise on,” said Valkonen.
What could be better on a beautiful summer day than taking a boat ride? On a mission to become “the Tesla of the seas”, this Finnish company specialises in developing fully electric boats with minimalistic sleek designs and excellent performance.
Q-Yachts first started taking the world by storm in 2018 with the launch of the Q30, an all-electric day cruiser that follows the brand’s vision of “enjoy the journey, not just the destination”. Since then, this quiet, comfortable, stylish and energy-efficient boat has become a global sensation with sales and enquiries coming from as far as Australia, Japan and Ecuador.
The company believes that its innovative concept for electric day cruises will only become more and more popular as a result of improved technology and charging infrastructure.
“The advanced technology and investment in design strengthen our competitive advantage and give us an excellent opportunity to become the world’s leading electric boat brand,” said CEO Johan Uunila.
Originally published in July 2020, updated in June 2022