I Love Me 2026 brought together 67,750 visitors, more than 400 exhibitors and 200 speakers over three days in Helsinki, reinforcing the event’s role as a meeting place for Finland’s beauty, fashion, wellbeing and health industries. The event gave established companies and emerging brands opportunities to showcase products, connect with customers and explore new business partnerships, including international expansion.
Organised at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre, I Love Me has become an important platform for businesses looking to increase their visibility and reach new audiences. This year’s programme featured product launches, first-time exhibitors and brand activations, with opportunities for companies to meet consumers and industry professionals directly.
Noora Haatainen, Business Manager at Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre, said the event helps businesses build customer relationships and create commercial opportunities while supporting the wider beauty, fashion, wellbeing and health sectors in Finland.
The 2026 edition also placed greater emphasis on international exposure, bringing media representatives and buyers to discover Finnish and Nordic brands. The initiative aimed to help companies develop new contacts beyond their domestic markets and create opportunities for future growth.
Among the brands featured on the international media tour was Lavliér, a Finnish cosmetics company founded in 2023. The brand introduced a new product line built around its Chem-less technology, which aims to reduce the need for chemicals and simplify cosmetic formulations and manufacturing processes through wood-based technology.
Lavliér designed its exhibition stand to reflect the brand’s visual identity and recreate elements of its flagship store experience. The presentation allowed visitors to explore the products while learning about the technology behind them.
Petro Lahtinen, Lavliér’s founder and Doctor of Chemistry, said the event offered the company an opportunity to present its products and innovation to consumers, journalists and industry professionals. He also highlighted the value of bringing companies, experts and industry organisations together to encourage collaboration and support the cosmetics sector.
For Finnish lifestyle and accessories brand Aarni, I Love Me 2026 marked its first participation in the event. The company used the exhibition to bring products normally sold through its online store into a physical setting where customers could examine materials, handle products and ask questions directly.
Its stand included material samples that allowed visitors to touch and compare the leathers and other materials used in Aarni’s products. The direct interaction also gave the company an opportunity to hear customer feedback and gain a better understanding of consumer preferences.
Niklas Tuokko, Aarni’s founder and chief executive, said meeting customers in person was valuable for the brand. He added that participation supported the company’s longer-term ambitions to expand internationally and raise the profile of Finnish fashion and design.
The experiences of Lavliér and Aarni illustrate two different ways brands can use a trade and consumer event: one to introduce product innovation, the other to give customers a closer experience of products they may previously have encountered only online. Both companies used the event to communicate their brand identities and build relationships with potential customers.
Beyond commercial activity, the event also addressed mental health and emotional wellbeing. MIELI Mental Health Finland, I Love Me’s long-term principal partner, brought discussions about mental health, emotions and emotional skills to the programme. Its Huolituoli, or “Worry Chair”, initiative offered visitors an accessible opportunity to talk through concerns.
The partnership also includes the annual Mielinauha campaign, which will mark its 10th anniversary in 2027. The anniversary ribbon was designed by Camilla Naukkarinen, winner of the Young Designer of the Year 2026 competition. Proceeds from the nationwide campaign support mental health and crisis work in Finland.
With its combination of consumer engagement, product innovation, industry networking and wellbeing initiatives, I Love Me continues to connect businesses with audiences across several related sectors. Its efforts to attract international buyers and media representatives also reflect an ambition to help Finnish and Nordic brands gain visibility beyond their home markets.
