Authentic Finnish Sauna Experience Quality Certificate: CASE Seth Ascetic (Taiwan)

Sauna from Finland grants the first international Authentic Finnish Sauna Experience Quality Certificate to SETH ASCETIC, a Taiwanese premier private club.

Year and a half ago Karl Chi, Project Manager at SETH ASCETIC, started to google information about sauna. SETH ASCETIC was to be a place which provides busy minds with a refuge where one can let go of all accumulated pressures. This led to the idea of a sauna as a part of services provided – a place of relaxation after workout. But saunas in Taiwan are simple, bare, dry and hot wooden rooms. That was not what SETH ASCETIC was aiming for. It had to be something better.

Google lead Chi to the website of Visit Finland, where he read more about the history and traditions of the Finnish sauna. Soon he discovered the website of Sauna from Finland, got interested and contacted the association. In September 2017 he participated the first World Sauna Forum, an international networking event of sauna and wellbeing professionals, in Jyväskylä, Central Finland. He also took a look to a Finnish gym company, Klub1. And as a result of his visit, a year later with the co-operation with Harvia two saunas and steam rooms were ready at SETH ASCETIC.

– The more I got to know about the Finnish sauna, the more we felt it was the right one for our club. We aim to be forerunners in the field of comprehensive wellbeing and that’s why we wanted the Finnish sauna to be part of the entirety. The Finnish sauna experience is all about high-quality materials, practicality and style, Chi says.

When the saunas and steam rooms were ready in 2018, Chi visited World Sauna Forum for the second time and took the owner of SETH ASCETIC, Sean Chang, and Chang’s wife with him. The group especially liked the Sauna of Light sauna village, where one could test different kinds of saunas in addition to sauna products and services. This time the visit lead to Chi ordering linen bench covers from Jokipiin Pellava. Each member of the club will have their own bench cover to use when visiting the sauna area.

Proving the authenticity of the sauna experience

Next step was the Authentic Finnish Sauna Experience certificate. In the beginning of December 2018 two Sauna from Finland auditors, Elina Heininen and Piija Äijänen, traveled to Taichung in south-west of Taiwan, to audit the sauna experience at SETH ASCETIC. They were happy to grant the first international certificate after seeing the well-designed, beautiful, high-end authentic Finnish sauna experience.

– The certificate is a prove of us knowing the most about the Finnish sauna experience and the quality and safety in whole Taiwan. It also plays part in the marketing of our club because it tells the customers that we provide something unique.

SETH ASCETIC is planning to add more Finnish products in the experience. Chi says that for example Finnish cosmetic products would be a great addition.

– Taiwanese women often go to beauty salons, so high-quality products made from natural materials are definitely welcomed. The bare Nordic nature and ingredients interest the Taiwanese women, Chi says and adds, that the brand has to be good to be able to compete with all the other brands in Taiwan.

According to Chi, the Finnish sauna and Finnish products have a lot of potential in the Taiwanese markets. He gives a few tips on how a Finnish company should tackle those markets. First of all, the company should have a clear website in English. There should also be information about how to purchase the product or service from abroad.  The process from the first contact to the finished import should be thought well step-by-step. The company should also react to a call for bids or request fast – even if they’re busy and can’t handle new orders.

For the future SETH ASCETIC has planned to expand the clubs to other parts of Taiwan. They’re also thinking about setting up a sauna association, so they can share information about the varied benefits and ways of the Finnish sauna experience.

How can we help you?

Carita Harju

Executive Director
Tel. +358 40 566 2481

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