There are several shampoo brands in Finland that are more than 50 years old.
In Finnish shampoos, there are many such brands that have held their ground from decade to decade. Adobe Stock / AOP
Something traditional Finnish, something patriotic and suitable for everyone. The goal was also to challenge Hellä Mietonen, the shampoo for the whole family that became a great success.
It was with such thoughts that he started Kirsti Paakkanen led advertising agency Womena for work. In 1974, the creamy Very Fine Finnish shampoo packaged in a blue plastic bottle imitating a pharmacy bottle was launched.
The visual world of the packaging was carefully honed to Finnish taste.
On the side of the shampoo bottle is a red beach house, puffy clouds and swans. In the advertisements, the hair was described as being washed with rainwater. The target group was “Finnish people”.
The whole package appealed to exactly the right emotions, as the shampoo quickly found its way into many Finnish saunas and bathrooms.
In the picture on the left is the original version of Very Fine Finnish shampoo, on the right is the current form, where the swans on the beach have flown elsewhere. ORKLA CARE
Experimenting with XYZ
According to Orkla Care, even now, more than 50 years after its launch, Very Hieno Suomalainen shampoo is Finland’s best-selling single shampoo product in units.
According to Orkla Care, Very Fine Finnish shampoo can be found in every retail store.
All in all, more than two million bottles of EHS products are sold annually.
All Ultra Hieno Suomalainen products are manufactured in Heinävedi, where Berner’s long-aged XZ shampoo and products from its product family are still manufactured.
The XZ brand was originally called XYZ, but was shortened to XZ. XZ celebrated its 70th birthday in 2024.
Niiskuneiti giggled like this in the 2003 XZ children’s shampoo. ILKA LEINO
Tender and Linna
The Hellä Mietonen shampoo, which was introduced to the market in the early 1970s, caught the minds of consumers right away from its white bottle, which resembled a human in shape.
The word gentle also stuck in people’s minds from the commercial song, where the shampoo was said to “gently wash the whole head, gently foaming”.
The bottle was designed by someone who worked at the advertising agency Womena Marjut Rimminen.
Hella Mieto is no longer manufactured. FINNA, INDAL, HELSINKI CITY MUSEUM
The production of Hella Mietonen was stopped, but in 2017 a special batch of it was still available for sale. Shampoo was first manufactured by Finns Marttinen and Indal. In the early 1980s, Indal was bought by the Swedish Mölnlycke.
Instead, Linna shampoo, which was launched in 1962, is still in production.
Linna wanted a shampoo that would suit the whole family. The name Linna was hoped to convey reliability and domesticity. An affordable price was also essential.
The products of the Linna product family are manufactured at the Kiillo factory in Turku.
This is what the Linna shampoo bottle looked like in 2010. EERO LEISMAMA