True Stories
Nordic nature made cosmetic: meet Rimita Green
Minna Uusitalo, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Rimita Green
My name is Minna Uusitalo. I’m managing director and together with my son, co-founder of Rimita Green. Before founding our own company, I worked in the B2B sector in a completely different field, as I was responsible for sales of converted papers, creating technical solutions for various end-uses and packaging. With Rimita, I have had the opportunity to discover a new kind of business, to develop new skills and to learn new things every day. And this is super inspiring!
On a personal level, I think it is good to have a balance between work and free time. Work takes up a lot of my time, but in my free time I prefer outdoor activities such as cycling, hiking, gardening or rowing. Cooking is also a good way for me to relax, as it is a creative activity and at the same time it is a nice feeling to pick vegetables and herbs from the garden and prepare a meal with them… I also love the opera and on winter evenings I love to pick up a good book and lie in my chair to read.
NATRUE: Could you please share the story behind the founding of Rimita? What motivated the creation of the brand, and what mission does it strive to achieve?
Minna: Together with my son, we founded Rimita Green ten years ago. It all started from my personal wake up for harmful ingredients in cosmetic products, as I strongly believe that the more people become aware of risks related to synthetic products, the more natural products will become mainstream. And at the same time, we understood that natural products need to work as well as synthetic ones. Faced with this situation, we decided to create a cosmetic brand that would meet these requirements: Rimita.
Peoples’ life is hectic and daily skin care and hygiene routines need to be easy and reliable. This has always been our guideline when creating new products. We also want to bring a piece of happiness to everyday life. We believe that the texture and scent of Rimita products, as well as the feeling of soft and silky skin, bring good feeling and joy. Proof of this is that our RimitaOats Hand & Body Soap has been chosen as best natural soap in Europe (European Natural Beauty Awards 2023, and our RimitaDeo has been voted best organic deodorant in Finland and in Nordic countries.
NATRUE: What specific elements from the Finnish natural landscape inspire your product formulations?
Minna: We respect nature. It is much more than just a source of pure ingredients; it is also a place for relaxation and a natural sanctuary. In winter, we cross-country ski; in summer, we hike, jog, pick berries and mushrooms, and swim in the fresh, open waters. This Nordic clean nature inspires us.
In Finland we have very demanding growing conditions for the plants and herbs: The temperature can vary from +30ºC in summer to -30ºC in winter. In order to survive the harsh winters, plants need to concentrate on a lot of antioxidants and the 24-hour daylight in summer ensures that there is a high concentration of vitamins. Therefore, products based on herbs and berries from Nordic countries have a real advantage.
NATRUE: How does Rimita Green define sustainability, and how is it integrated into your products and business practices?
Minna: Sustainability is in Rimita’s DNA. The ingredients in our products are harvested without threatening nature. We increasingly use raw materials harnessed from by-products of the food industry: oat oil, xylitol made from oats, and oil from sea buckthorn seeds to name a few. One man’s waste is another man’s treasure! We are also always seeking ways to create less waste, for example by reusing packaging materials as much as possible. We use green electricity in our production. Sustainability for us also means how we treat our colleagues, business partners and what additional good we can provide in our local society. For example, every Christmas we donate hygiene products to families in need.
NATRUE: What role does Finnish culture and lifestyle play in the development of your product line?
Minna: We Finns are known for our honesty and for still living close to nature. We want to respect mother nature and create products which are not harmful for the people nor for the nature around us.
NATRUE: What are the benefits of using NATRUE for you?
Minna: NATRUE is a well-established and highly appreciated certification Standard within the industry and therefore a natural choice for us. The fact that our products carry the NATRUE-logo gives our customers the certainty that they are manufactured following the highest standards. We also appreciate the professionalism and nice way of working of NATRUE team.
For more information about Rimita Green, visit www.rimitagreen.com
Download the interview here.