Hot and Steamy Spin-Offs

Sauna and public bath culture, historically important in places like Finland and Japan, is on the rise globally of late, including in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and China. Most researchers forecast annual growth rates for the global sauna and bath industry of between 3% and 6%, with the U.S. market pegged at the high end of that range. The recent interest is attributed to several factors, including the ability of saunas and baths to address current consumer desires for relaxation and better mental health, improved physical wellness, technology-free spaces, and human connection. 

The trend has led to the emergence of a handful of product collaborations over the past few years. They have taken several forms, but tend to focus on three main areas: lifestyle products reflecting sauna or bath culture, products to be used in saunas or baths, and actual saunas. 

• Most recently, in November 2024, Casio announced that it is developing a durable, water- and heat-resistant watch, the CPP-002, specifically for use in saunas. The venture includes three models, with one designed in collaboration with Sauna Ikitai, a Japanese online platform to help consumers find sauna facilities in that country, by location and other characteristics. The Sauna Ikitai edition is in blue, in keeping with the site’s branding. The watches, which incorporate features such as a 12-minute counter to be used to time a sauna visit, are being crowdfunded for a three-month period beginning December 2 on the Japanese crowdfunding platform Makuake. 

• In the most high-profile example of the trend, especially in the U.S., Marimekko—which has long been associated with sauna culture in its native Finland—paired with Ikea in 2022 for a Bastua collection of products released in March 2023. The collection was inspired by Nordic design and wellness/self-care rituals, including sauna. The array encompassed 26 products, among them glassware and trays, a bench and side table, candles, and Ikea’s first sauna bucket, as well as robes, towels, and other textiles with nature-inspired prints. This was the first time Marimekko designed a custom collection of prints for a collaboration; one features large rhubarb leaves of the sort sometimes found next to sauna buildings in Finland. The name Bastua comes from a word used to describe sauna in Småland, the region in southern Sweden where Ikea was founded. 

• Jacquart Fabric Products’ Stormy Kromer brand partnered in 2023 with Snowtrekker Tents for a portable sauna tent. Stormy Kromer markets a full line of wool apparel and other products, from dog jackets to coffee mugs, and is best known for its original offering: the Elmer Fudd-style rugged woolen ear-flap caps. Stormy Kromer had been manufacturing tents for Snowtrekker for more than 15 years, but this was the first true collaboration between the two Upper Midwestern U.S. brands. The tent was designed to be as close to a permanent wood-fired sauna as possible and came with an optional wood stove. 

• Studio F.A. Porsche, home of the Porsche Design Brand, paired with U.S. sauna and wellness specialist KLAFS for a limited-edition sauna that debuted in the U.S. market in November 2023. The company often partners with architects, designers, and studios on new, collaboratively designed luxury saunas. The Porsche offering included heat, light, color, and sound to relax the body and mind. 

• Oddtaxi, a cult-hit anime produced by OLM and P.I.C. Studios and published by Shogakukan in Japan, was partnered with Sauna Camp, a Japanese manufacturer of portable saunas, in 2022. The Oddsauna initiative consisted of a branded sauna, as well as sauna shorts and shirts, towels, air fresheners, bags, stickers and keychains, and a sauna hat shaped like the main character of Hiroshi Odokawa, a taxi-driving walrus. The products were available at Sauna Camp’s online store in Japan, with stickers given away at five public saunas in that country to consumers who asked for them. In the property, which is distributed by Crunchyroll and published by Denpa in the U.S., the characters spend many scenes conversing in a sauna. 

• Japanese apparel and lifestyle retailer Beams partnered with Kiyoshinsha Cow Brand milk soap in 2021 for a takeover of Tokyo’s Kotobukiyu sento, or bath house, a limited-edition merchandise collection, and special-edition soap. The event, Sento no Susume, was meant to encourage public bath culture and included signage on banners inside and outside the facility, including a mural on an interior wall. Beams’ merchandise—which included t-shirts in grey, black, and plum; caps; totes; wash towels; a foldable bathtub; and other products—featured original artwork, along with Beams’ orange branding. Cow Brand milk soap, a leading beauty soap in Japan, was also on offer in limited-edition packages featuring Beams orange rather than the brand’s traditional red or blue. The collection was sold in a pop-up shop during the promotion, which was a follow-up to a similar event in 2019, and at Beams. The 2019 and 2021 promotions featured original artwork by illustrator Yu Nagaba and manga artist Mari Yamazaki, respectively. 

Target consumers for these sauna-centric initiatives include both urban and rural dwellers, typically with a focus on young adults. While some of the collaborations are global, most examples focus on places with cold climates where sauna and bath culture are more likely to take hold.