Our Story
“My mother was a hairdresser in the 1960’s. Back then women loved big hairdos that required maximum hold hair products. That’s probably how my father got the idea for developing hairsprays, and I must say that his enthusiasm was quite contagious”, says Heikki Jalava.
In 1968 Heikki’s father, Torsten, bought an old and shabby farm to chase his dream. The farm’s cattle shed became his joined laboratory and factory. Small things, like having no running water, didn’t discourage good old Torsten. “That’s why they invented canisters”, he thought and hauled all necessary water – lots of it – from the family’s apartment twenty kilometers away.
Torsten’s hair products worked like a charm, but mass-producing them turned out to be too expensive for a solo entrepreneur. He began producing technical aerosols instead, but never completely let go of his original dream. That dream was eventually passed on to his son.
Torsten’s son, Heikki, followed in his father’s footsteps. He took the reins of the company and ushered in the new millennium by investing in state-of-the-art facilities and by hiring highly skilled people.
The company kept growing, and after 50+ years of perfecting their talent and technology they were ready to re-enter the world of cosmetics with a big bang. HEÖ was born.
“For me this is not just about business. This is about upholding my father’s legacy and making our shared dream a reality. It’s quite emotional to finally be where we always wanted to go. And I’m proud to say that our team created an amazing product line!”
HEÖ is Finland’s only manufacturer of cosmetic aerosols, and one of only two in the Nordic countries. We take pride in our story and heritage, but we are equally proud of the products themselves. They are good. They are very, very good. Furthermore, they are manufactured responsibly.
Finland has the best air quality in the world, and our nature is clean and pristine. We’d like to keep it that way! That’s why our production is streamlined so that absolutely nothing goes to waste in the process. Our factory is heated by geothermal energy and we are currently investing in solar power. Our packaging is 100 % recyclable, and almost all the products are 100 % vegan.
It’s been a long journey from the cattle shed to where we are today. One can only guess how Torsten would react if he was here to see all this, but we have a feeling he wouldn’t be able to hide his gentle smile.
