Närbild på blommande rapsplanta i Sverige med gula rapsblommor, naturlig råvara till Rapsodines produkter

The Story Behind Rapsodine

For over 30 years, Rapsodine has been manufacturing natural, organic, and vegan skin and hair care products. Lotta Johansson Lönn, product and brand manager at Rapsodine, has been running around the factory premises since childhood and has been part of the brand's development from the start. Since 2018, she and her husband Mikael Lönn have been running the company together.

Lotta Johansson Lönn

- It feels great, and a little surreal, for me who grew up in the company, to be running it today together with my family. Returning to the factory and my hometown of Mariestad truly felt like coming home.

Ekologisk fuktighetskräm med doft av honungsblom från Rapsodine med rapsolja, naturlig hudvård i blommande rapsfält

Lotta was there, then, when it all began.

She explains that Rapsodine was founded with the desire to create a product "with a foot in the earth" based on Swedish rapeseed oil. The desire came from one of the company's largest customers at the time and was conveyed to Lotta's step-father – entrepreneur Tomas Meyer. At that time, he had begun to take an interest in the properties of rapeseed oil and had tested it in various types of products.
- He even drove a car on rapeseed oil, Lotta says.

Blommande rapsfält i Sverige med gula rapsblommor, naturlig råvara till Rapsodines produkter

“Swedish gold” - both sustainable and softening

The result of the inquiry was a moisturizer, which remains Rapsodine's most popular product to this day. All manufacturing still takes place at Rapsodine's own factory in Mariestad, where Lotta worked many summer jobs in her youth. Today, the range of skin and hair care products, all based on rapeseed oil, has grown significantly and consists of about 40 products. Lotta explains why rapeseed oil is so close to the company's heart.

"Sweden's gold"

- There are many benefits to using rapeseed oil in skin and hair care. From a sustainability perspective, it is of course a huge advantage that it is Swedish and locally produced. Rapeseed oil is often called "Sweden's gold". It is one of the few vegetable oils suitable for skincare that we can grow on a larger scale in Sweden. It also has very good skin-caring properties, especially for dry and problematic skin. There are studies showing that pure rapeseed oil is better than cortisone.

Produktion av Rapsodines produkter där innehåll fylls i flaskor, svensk tillverkning av ekologisk hudvård

Sustainable choices create direction for the entire company

To reduce emissions from transport and to benefit regional business and the labor market, Swedish and local collaborations are prioritized. All choices made by the company are based on achieving the highest possible sustainability. Other examples of active choices Rapsodine makes to support the climate include utilizing all production waste and selling all second-grade products in the factory store in Mariestad.

Refill station in our factory shop in Mariestad

- We have chosen not to use extra packaging for our products, as many others in the industry do. And all the packaging we do use is, of course, made from recyclable materials. We also recently launched a refill station at our factory store in Mariestad, which means that several of our products can be purchased completely packaging-free. In the long term, the plan is to establish more refill stations around the country.

Vidsträckt rapsfält i blom i Sverige vid kustlandskap, naturlig råvara bakom Rapsodines produkter

His heart remained with the company & in the large yellow rapeseed fields in Skaraborg

The commitment to sustainability has been there since Tomas founded Rapsodine. A legacy that Lotta and Mikael manage today with great passion, along with the other five employees in the company. It was when Tomas fell ill a few years ago that she truly became involved in the company. At that time, she lived with her family in Stockholm, where she also worked as an economic consultant, and her husband Mikael was a operations manager in a private healthcare company. Initially, she commuted between Mariestad and Stockholm. But she quickly realized the strong connection she had to the company she had grown up with.

In memory of Tomas

- I've seen the whole journey, and it means so much to me. When Tomas passed away, after a while, we were faced with the choice of selling our share in the company or taking over and running it full-time. And the choice, of course, ultimately felt obvious. It has certainly been a tough journey taking over the company while grieving for Tomas, but also an incredible honor to have the opportunity to continue running the company in his spirit.

Lotta Johansson Lönn med familj i blommande rapsfält i Sverige, naturlig miljö som speglar Rapsodines råvaror och ursprung

In early 2018, the move back to Mariestad took place.

Lotta brought both her husband and children home with her. Today, Lotta runs the company with her husband Mikael Lönn, she as product and brand manager and he as CEO. The family enjoys living in Mariestad.


- It's a fantastic place to live. It's so beautiful here. I love the proximity to the water, the beaches, and of course all the beautiful rapeseed fields that are here. The proximity to Kinnekulle and the islands of Brommö and Torsö also enriches the quality of life.

Ekologiskt schampo, balsam och hårolja från Rapsodine med naturliga ingredienser i inspirerande utomhusmiljö

A circular future

Lotta and Mikael, along with their employees, will continue to develop the company towards its vision of contributing to a more sustainable society through Swedish organic skincare that takes responsibility for both people and the environment.

Circularity

- It somehow feels like a full circle now that I'm running the family business I grew up in with my own family. And speaking of circularity, that's also where we want to go with the company. In the future, our goal is to offer a completely circular product that conscious people choose because it feels good, both on the skin and in the heart.