Estonian sauna exporter Auroom has launched a new cold-bath product suited to Southern European markets, where a heatwave has helped draw attention to the timing of the release.
Speaking to Tööstusuudised, Auroom CEO Marten Merdikes said the company is placing greater emphasis on the wellness business and increasingly focusing on large public sauna projects.
The company has also started entering new product segments. Its cold bath is already on the market, while a steam sauna is under development. Merdikes said the expansion is intended to give customers a broader set of wellness products rather than limiting Auroom’s offering to traditional saunas.
“If you enter the wellness business and do not offer, for example, steam saunas or cold baths to spas, it is actually very difficult for customers to buy from you as a one-stop shop,” Merdikes said. “You have to develop your capabilities.”
He added that architects and customers working on larger wellness areas increasingly expect suppliers to provide a range of products. Auroom has historically been sauna-focused, but its longer-term direction is toward offering more complete solutions.
Cold-bath launch gains momentum
Auroom introduced the cold bath three or four months ago, according to Merdikes. The company is now seeing strong interest from customers who want to sell the product and from showrooms that are taking display units.
“We see that there is interest in marketing the product and that showrooms are taking samples. It has started quite strongly for us,” Merdikes said.
The launch also coincided with a heatwave in Southern Europe, where the product is suited to customers looking for ways to cool down. Merdikes said the timing was favourable.
“I think it was the right moment to launch this product, but it is simply a coincidence that the heatwave came at the same time,” he said.
Revenue growth supports broader strategy
Merdikes said Auroom met the targets it had set for the previous year and increased the combined sales revenue of its Estonian and Latvian units to more than €18M. Estonia accounted for nearly €13M of that total.
The company expects sales revenue to reach at least €20M in 2026. For 2027, Auroom is targeting annual revenue of €22M–€23M, according to Merdikes.
The CEO said the company’s product development is continuing alongside its expansion into public wellness projects and adjacent product categories. The cold bath is the first of the new products already available, while the steam sauna remains a development project.
Rail Baltica could offer an export alternative
The interview also covered whether Rail Baltica could create new export opportunities for Auroom and other Estonian manufacturers. Merdikes said rail could offer an alternative to road transport for exports to Europe, where road freight is currently the main option.
However, he noted that sauna products are often shipped directly to a customer’s warehouse. Introducing rail could require more handling, potentially increasing both costs and the risk of damage to higher-value products.
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