Naava Expands To Asia And Reveals Plans To Enter The Central European Market

Finnish health technology company Naava was founded in Finland in 2012, expanded next to its neighboring Nordic country Sweden and later in 2016 to the USA and Canada. Now Naava has expanded to a third continent, to Asia, and more specifically to South Korea.

“Asia has been Naava’s ultimate goal the whole time. Even though all countries - including the Nordic countries with pure outdoor air -  benefit from better indoor air, in Asia the problem with air pollution is severe. I have personally experienced that when I worked at KONE in different Asian countries. South Korea marks the starting point for our Asian market entry, as we found a mission match in a leading local premium lifestyle giant Sejung. In addition, South Korea made sense for us, as Koreans are early adopters of new innovations and technology and they look for solutions in nature. Sejung is backing the established local Naava Korea Co. Ltd, which is our exclusive distributor in South Korea,” said Arttu Salmenhaara, Executive Chairman at Naava.

Sejung is a global brand management company and high-end fashion retailer and distributor with 1500 stores around the country. From fashion, the company has expanded into food and beverage, household products, hotel & leisure and real estate industries. Sejung’s Executive Managing Director Kyung Kyu (Sean) Kim has always had an affinity to Finland, its culture and nature, which culminated in an outdoor clothing brand called Fever Green - Inspired by Finland.

“The air pollution problem is acute in South Korea, Seoul being one of the most polluted megacities in the world. Sejung saw Naava had an advanced product to tackle the problem and wanted to partner with Naava to bring fresh natural air and real nature inside all indoor spaces in the form of beautiful and automated Naava healthtech furniture. Naava Korea has been operational for 3 months now with several Naava clients, expecting a healthy revenue of over €1 million next year,” said Naava Korea’s CEO Namkyu Lee.