In the awards autumn series of blog posts, we get to know the brands behind the nominee products of the Nordic Natural Beauty Awards 2023. In this post, we are proud to share more about the Finnish natural cosmetics brand Flow Cosmetics, as told by the brand:
“FROM A SIMPLE SOAP EXPERIMENT TO AN INTERNATIONAL COSMETICS BRAND.
A home kitchen and a spark of interest was all it took. Founder Riitta Jänkälä started making homemade soaps in her home kitchen, and what started out as a hobby quickly turned into a job and a business that soon employed almost the entire family. Today, Flow Cosmetics consists of more than a 100 handmade skincare, haircare and make-up products. In addition to being pioneers in the Finnish organic cosmetics market, Flow Cosmetics has now expanded to international waters. Our handmade products are manufactured in our own small factory in Riihimäki, and they have established their position in the beauty boxes and makeup bags of quality-conscious customers. A genuine love for nature, decades of expertise and a range of high-quality natural ingredients is a strong base for excellence.
IT ALL STARTED WITH A SIMPLE BAR OF LAVENDER SOAP…
Riitta Jänkälä was a busy career mother in the 90’s, who took care of the family and simultaneously ran a hair salon with her sister in Vantaa and later in Hyvinkää. Born and raised in Northern Finland, Riitta was swept away by the fast pace of the hair and beauty care industry of the South. The longing for nature remained, and at the turn of the millennium Riitta became more and more aware of the dose of chemicals she was exposed to on a daily basis.
MOTHER AND DAUGHTER AS A BUSINESS OWNER DUO
Riitta and her daughter Suvi run the business together, both relying on their strengths. Riitta creates wonderful aromatherapeutic recipes, driven by strong intuition, whilst Suvi formulates effective, solution-oriented treatments. “I am the brains, and my mother is the heart! I consider and contemplate, while she trusts her instincts and moves forward quickly. We are aware of our differences and they play out as a complementing, balancing strength for Flow Cosmetics. It’s a wonderful thing to be able to work with your own family, and it is more a lifestyle than anything. Often, when we sit by the dock on long summer evenings, we envision the future and plan new products together”, Suvi says.
THE EVERYDAY LIFE OF AN ENTREPRENEUR
In 2014, the company faced a new challenge. As demand increased, the old production facilities in Hyvinkää became cramped, leaving Riitta and Suvi with a difficult choice. They had to either move to a larger facility and invest in new equipment, or outsource the manufacturing as many cosmetics companies do. “The manufacturing of Flow Cosmetics products was temporarily outsourced – it was the worst mistake of my career! Customers noticed a difference in the texture and quality, and for the first time we started getting negative feedback on the products. Luckily we realized to pull back in time. I realized that efficiency and productivity are not the most important thing, and that the professionalism we had accumulated over the years was our greatest asset. Our thing is to manufacture the products from start to finish ourselves. This that has taken us to this point where we are now.”
NEW INNOVATIONS AND BESTSELLER TREASURES
Flow Cosmetics selects ingredients so pure they’re good enough to eat! The ingredients include but are not limited to seed oils of various berries, flower extracts, coconut oil, salt, sugar and apple cider vinegar.
Along the way, various product experiments have been carried out, some of which have been successful immediately, some of which have been waiting for the right moment. “My mother’s intuition and bold experimentation has often paid off, but we also listen to the feedback of our resellers and customers. We have no need to run after trends, but of course we follow up on ingredients that are hyped to pick out the best ones for use. It would be madness not to utilize hyaluronic acid in products, which has been proved an excellent moisture-binding ingredient. The customers are already aware of its effectiveness due to the media attention.
Sometimes Flow Cosmetics has been ahead of its time. A good example of this are the flower waters, which Flow Cosmetics had in the early 2010 in five different variations. Only the rose water was selling, so we decided to give up the others. A couple of years ago, the popularity of floral waters began to grow once more, so chamomile and lavender water returned to the range alongside the bestselling rose water. ”
A NEW LOOK.
In honor of the 15-year journey, Flow Cosmetics got a new look. “While the content of the product always comes first, it is also important that the design of the packaging is interesting, so that the products receive the attention they deserve. It was time to renew the look of the brand and at the same time think about the place of each product within the range.We wanted to unify the brand’s appearance and bring Flow Cosmetics forward as a Finnish, international-level natural cosmetics series.”
OUR PROMISE AND MISSION
Finland is known to have one of the cleanest, purest natures in the entire world. The ingredients we need are right at our fingertips. Truly natural ingredients are essential to Flow Cosmetics, and we carefully select each and every one of them. Our production complies with the criteria of certified natural cosmetics. We use organically certified ingredients and wild-grown plants of the pure, green North. The ratio of organically grown or wild-grown ingredients in our products is particularly high, and is clearly visible on the packaging. Our customers always receive the products fresh, as they are made by hand in small batches. We mainly use easily recyclable cardboard and glass as packaging materials
“I’m really proud that I have been able to grow Flow Cosmetics from my hobby to one of Finland’s best-known natural cosmetics series. The doors to the world are already open, and it feels like only the sky is the limit. My dear family and our knowledgeable and passionate Flow Cosmetics team are developing Finnish natural cosmetics expertise forward. We will continue to make the products ourselves by hand from high-quality ingredients, relying on our strong natural cosmetics expertise, professionalism and intuition.”
8 REASONS TO CHOOSE FLOW COSMETICS
Flow Cosmetics is one of the pioneers of domestic natural cosmetics manufacturers. Handmade, natural cosmetic products have established their place among environmentally and quality-conscious consumers, and they find their way to new customers again and again.
1. We manufacture domestics, locally natural cosmetics.
Finland has the cleanest nature in the world, whose flowing waters, seasons and greenery are incomparable. This enchanting northern energy is conveyed in all the products we make, from shampoos to powerful moisturizing serums.
We manufacture and pack almost all natural cosmetics and make-up products in our selection at our own small factory in Riihimäki. We manufacture products in small batches so that they are as fresh as possible when they arrive to the customer.
2. We choose only the best, possible raw materials for our products
For our founder Riitta Jänkälä, it has always been particularly important that we do not take shortcuts when choosing raw materials for our products. The essential oils are always extracted according to strict quality standards, and the skin care products are manufactured diligently, testing different options to ensure the best possible composition and effectiveness. This way we can promise that when choosing a product from us, the customer knows that they have made a high-quality and efficient choice.
All the raw materials of our products meet the criteria of certified natural cosmetics. This is one of our most important values and it also affects the products in our selection. If a product cannot be manufactured with ingredients that meet organic criteria, we will not make it.
3. We are a small family company that manufactures products with love.
Flow Cosmetics is a business for which manufacturing organic, effective products is a vocation and passion. Our owner and founder Riitta Jänkälä and her daughter, operational director Suvi Kunnari, drive the company forward out of love for better, organic cosmetics and holistic well-being. The rest of the family also participates in our company’s operations in one way or another. A small company works in many ways like a family, where everyone participates in joint activities and achieving goals.
4. Our production is carbon neutral
In its simplicity, carbon-neutral production means that the amount of greenhouse gas emissions generated by our business operations has been calculated. We strive to reduce emissions even further, and for the time being we offset the unavoidable emissions through a certified offset project. Important and ever-increasing values for us are our carbon neutrality, production transparency and our actions for the climate.
5. We use recyclable, environmentally friendly packaging materials
We choose our packaging materials as carefully as our raw materials. We try to use materials that can be easily recycled as much as possible, such as glass and cardboard, and when we have to choose plastic due to the way the product is transported and used, we make sure that the plastic is recyclable.
6. We invest in organic, raw materials.
Most of the raw materials used in Flow Cosmetics’ products are certified organic or wild plants collected from Lapland, such as heather, northern berries and juniper. All preservatives and auxiliary substances used in cosmetics also comply with natural cosmetics standards. The raw materials are eco-certified, and our mineral makeup, for example, does not contain nanoparticles.
We only choose effective and functional domestic raw materials for our products, and we use domestic raw materials for e.g. calendula, peppermint and nettle, which we get from a well-known organic farm. The raw materials imported from abroad come from reliable European operators, and they go through thorough studies to guarantee certified quality.
7. We do everything ourselves, starting with the recipe
All Flow and Korento products are manufactured with decades of expertise and solid cosmetics expertise. Riitta, the founder of Flow Cosmetics, and her daughter, operational director Suvi, design the products themselves, starting with the recipe, so that we can proudly stand behind the quality and power of every Flow product.
Beauty care that considers the body and mind as a whole plays a central role in Flow Cosmetics’ product development, so that every customer who uses our products gets more than just an effective moisturizer or a piece of shampoo that’s just right for them.
8. Our strong values based on each product
Over the years, Flow Cosmetics has grown into a significant natural cosmetics operator in Finland, and we are proud that we have always done our work with all our heart, believing in our vision and following our values.
We will not stop developing ever more environmentally friendly ways to produce clean, organic cosmetics that delight, and above all solve our customers’ skin care and beauty challenges.
With precise research and development work, transparency and honesty, and closeness to nature, we ensure that when choosing our product, the customer can always feel that he has made a better choice both for himself and for our planet.
AHA & BHA PEELING SERUM
Flow Cosmetics is proud to introduce the new, yet already award-nominated AHA & BHA Peeling Serum! This serum is especially designed for overnight use.
Cosmetics industry professionals and passionate skincare enthusiasts have sworn by the revolutionary AHA and BHA acids for years. The rejuvenating acid peels done in beauty salons are strong treatments that provide immediate effect. The Flow Cosmetics AHA & BHA Peeling Serum is a gentler treatment, but with regular use it will provide the same spectacular results as the treatments provided by beauty professionals!
The AHA & BHA Peeling Serum brightens the skin, fades fine lines, rejuvenates skin cells and effectively reduces impurities and blockages. The unique recipe is developed from 100% natural ingredients, and it moisturizes and helps the skin to absorb other skincare products.
The brightening and moisturizing effect of the serum is visible immediately after the first use. The full effects of the serum are noticeable after about two weeks of regular use. The serum can be used with other skincare products overnight.
A WORD ABOUT BEAUTY
At Flow, we think that beauty is not only a quality brought by youth, but a feature that appears in women of all ages! That’s why we want to respect the signs of ageing on our skin and encourage you to accept your skin as it is, as part of the course of life. With more than 20 years of experience, we have seen how the signs of ageing on the skin make us even more beautiful.
When we accept ourselves and the changes in our skin, we can focus on everything else beautiful that life offers us. We help women feel confident, regardless of age, and enjoy every day to the fullest. That’s why we make natural cosmetics that respect the skin and its beautiful ageing. In this way, we can ensure that every woman can feel beautiful and healthy just the way she is, without pressure from anything else.”
Get to know Flow Cosmetics even better on the brand’s website at flowcosmetics.com and follow the brand’s journey on Flow Cosmetics’ Instagram account >
