Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Made in Finland
Finnish design to the fullest Mehujehu is still a relatively young product; Loponen first got the idea some four years ago, and the company behind it, Innotuning, was formed in 2011. However, from the very beginning, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. “Users give the final verdict, and that is where the most valuable feedback comes from,” says Loponen. “That feedback gives the product a great chance to succeed.” Mehujehu got more marketing power in late 2013, when Markus Heinonen joined as marketing director. Now the company plans to find more resellers all over the world.
Stylish Mehujehu containers make drinking from a juice carton less messy.
And the straw will not escape the juice carton ever again When children reach the age of being able to drink out of a juice carton on their own, other problems can emerge: all of a sudden, the kids have colourful sugary stains all over their clothes. Finnish Mehujehu provides a stylishly-designed solution for parents battling these issues.
The product itself comes in various different colours and also with two alternative prints. It is virtually impossible for kids to break it, and it looks good. New versions and innovations are already in the making. “As has always been the case with the Finnish design tradition, it was always our intention to combine design with usability and durability,” says Loponen. So far, it has proved to be a recipe for very promising success.
By Johannes Laitila | Photos: Aki Loponen / Mehujehu
Juice cartons are convenient. They are easy to take with you wherever you go, they are perfectly sized, and what they contain usually makes children happy. But if you hold on to the carton a bit too firmly and forget to pay enough attention, the juice can spill, the straw can fall and a huge mess can follow. This is something Finnish Aki Loponen saw happen to his son time and time again. He and his wife started thinking about buying one of those things, those juice carton containers. But after searching for a bit, they realised that there was no such thing.
Loponen decided to change this. He started to develop a product that is now known as Mehujehu, Finnish, naturally, for ‘juice wizard’. “The first step was to think about the material,” recalls Loponen. “You can’t make them from wood, and you can’t make them from cardboard either because that wouldn’t really solve the problem.” He ended up with a prototype made of polypropene. After checking with the Finnish innovation authority, Loponen was all set to move on with his recently-found business plan.
For more information, please visit: www.mehujehu.fi
Issue 67 | August 2014 | 53