Sauna Fresh is exploring a new role for consumer products

The idea for Sauna Fresh was born at ODDfest in 2025. In early fall, producer Konsta Ikäläinen and Ile Mäentakanen, the man behind the RÄNDÖM brand, began developing an experiment in which the beverage would not be merely a product, but rather a consumer product that could serve as a channel for cultural dissemination.

The point isn’t that the QR code itself is a new invention. These codes are already used everywhere: in restaurants, advertisements, museums, events, and on product packaging. They often lead to additional information, a campaign page, a contest, or content that supports purchasing. Sauna Fresh’s experiment differs from this in what it aims to build behind the code. It doesn’t just direct users to the product’s own world, but to a curated online gallery.

The online gallery brings together art, short films, poetry, circus, sauna traditions, games, cultural history, events, and contemporary artists. The idea is that a drink can open a path to content that people might not otherwise encounter. The audience doesn’t need to know in advance what they’re looking for. The first step can be a coincidence and a new, surprising discovery.

In this regard, Sauna Fresh is part of a broader problem. In the cultural sector, visibility and funding tend to go to those who already have established networks, audiences, and resources. Funding for the independent sector has been cut, artists’ livelihoods are precarious, and corporate collaboration remains a difficult or sporadic avenue for many cultural actors in Finland. That is why we also need small-scale experiments that explore new pathways between audiences, creators, and funding.

Sauna Fresh isn’t interesting if you view it merely as a drink. It only becomes interesting if the online gallery actually works. If the content is carelessly curated, the experiment remains nothing more than a branded link. If the curation is precise, it can turn the product into a gateway that directs attention to small events, young creators, forgotten pieces of cultural history, and art forms that don’t compete on equal terms with large institutions.

So it’s not unusual for a product to have a QR code. What is unusual is the attempt to transform the code from an advertising channel into a cultural channel.

For the public, this can mean an easy way to discover culture without any prior knowledge. For the cultural sector, it can mean a new, small distribution channel where a commercial product doesn’t just use culture to build its image, but actually tries to bring the public into contact with culture.

Ultimately, the success of the experiment is measured quite simply: Do people open the gallery? Do they engage with the content? Do they discover something they wouldn’t have found otherwise?

If that happens, Sauna Fresh will be more than just a joint campaign for a beverage and a cultural phenomenon. It will be a test of whether an everyday consumer product can carry more than just its own brand.

At the same time, the project brings together three areas: well-being, the sauna, and culture. Sauna Fresh does not view the sauna merely as a symbol of relaxation, nor does it see culture merely as an added value to the product. It seeks to build a practical bridge between them, where rejuvenation, the Finnish sauna tradition, and the discovery of art become integral parts of the same experience.