Even better, Finland has a long agricultural history with hemp. I started to connect the dots—here was a raw material that's good for people, good for the planet, and potentially more profitable for Finnish farmers than many conventional crops.
Between 2018 and 2020—the first wave of hemp extracts in Europe—I met Juha-Petteri Kukkonen, and we began to explore the idea of building a plant extract manufacturing business in Finland. Like YSUB and many others ahead of the curve, we ran into regulatory headwinds. Even though angel investors saw the potential, the legislation was outdated, and government funding wasn't accessible for hemp extract businesses.
Even though we didn't get to the first wave, I didn't give up. I started my own e-commerce business selling white label products (like everybody else). It kept me in the industry, helped me follow the latest trends, and gave me a deeper understanding of the market. During that time I learned to love the Finnish word for entrepreneur - "yrittäjä" aka "tryer". I tried and tried to find different ways to start a real plant extract business here in Finland. I even worked with Aalto University students to develop the first class B fire-retardant hemp insulation—but someone in the U.S. beat us to the punch. Still, we proved it could be done.
Then, in 2023, everything clicked. During the summer holidays, my wife and I realized there was a clear gap in the market: intimate wellness products that are 100% natural. Women were already using soothing plant extracts to ease endometriosis, vulvodynia, and the side effects of hormonal birth control—but existing products weren't convenient, condom-safe, or pleasantly scented.
So I created one. With the help of Finland's leading natural cosmetics chemist, we developed a product we believed in and our test group loved it! Once the formulation entered stability testing, I reached out to Juha-Petteri again. That led to meeting Noora—and the rest, as they say, is history.
