The global market value of sanitaryware, ceramic tiles, and solid surfaces is growing at a fast pace. In 2022, the European sanitaryware market was estimated at approximately 10 billion euros. At the same time, the demand for ecological materials in sanitaryware is also increasing. Addressing this demand, Woodio, a Finnish modern-day interior and design company is developing a wood-based material.
€16.3M funding for expansion
With ambitious growth plans, Woodio just picked up €16.3 million in growth funding. The round was led by a new investor – UB Forest Industry Green Growth Fund (UB FIGG) and the European Innovation Council (EIC), and it was also joined by previous investors.
This fresh round takes the total funding raised by the company to €27 million. The newly secured funding will be used to make a significant investment in scaling Woodio’s business in Finland along with accelerating international expansion.
”We are excited to announce UB FIGG’s investment into a Finland-based company, which has developed high value-add, award-winning design products from a forest industry side stream. Moreover, we believe Woodio products will make a significant impact by reducing up to 80 percent of CO2 emissions in comparison to current typical products” commented Matti Lehtipuu, Managing Partner of UB FIGG.
“The commercialisation of Woodio’s biomaterial innovation to this stage is an excellent example of new opportunities in the forest sector. Finland has a long history and significant know-how related to the forest industry, and it is essential for the future development of the industry that funds specialising in forest-based growth companies have started to emerge in Finland. We are pleased that Woodio is among the first investments of UB FIGG,” commented Woodio’s founder Petro Lahtinen.
“Woodio has created something completely new and unique for a traditional industry, which is hundreds of times the added value of the wood chips. This new significant growth funding creates a great foundation to take Woodio’s biomaterial innovation towards industrial success on a global scale”, summarised Woodio’s Chairperson of the Board Eerik Paasikivi.
Sustainable wood-based sanitaryware
Woodio, founded by Petro Lahtinen in 2016 in Helsinki, is renowned for its sustainable sanitaryware made from a wood-based material. It carries the credit of being the first company in the world to manufacture ecological, water-resistant wood composite products for bathrooms. Woodio’s products combine both unique design and ecology.
The company’s mission is fighting climate change by replacing high carbon footprint materials with its sustainable biomaterial innovation, the Woodio material. It is the world’s first 100% waterproof solid wood composite designed to replace ceramic and stone materials sustainably.
As per the company, Woodio products have a significantly lower carbon footprint, throughout the whole product lifecycle, than similar traditional ceramic bathroom fixtures. In addition, Woodio’s products are disposable as energy waste, which means their products can be burned as energy at the end of their lifecycle.
Woodio has been awarded the prestigious Fennia Prize design award and numerous other industry awards both in Finland and internationally.
