Design for everyday - Pirkka and Ivana Helsinki start cooperation

KESKO FOOD LTD PRESS RELEASE 07.02.2012 AT 13.15 1(1)

Pirkka and Ivana Helsinki have signed a cooperation agreement concerning the use of Ivana Helsinki designs in Pirkka products. Non-disposable bags arrive to K-food stores at the beginning of February, followed by napkins and disposable tableware in early spring 2012. In the future, designs by Paola Suhonen will also be seen in other Pirkka products.

"Our cooperation with Ivana Helsinki started from Paola Suhonen's idea to make everyday design and beauty available for everyone at favourable prices. Design is a more up-to-date topic than ever now that Helsinki is the World Design Capital of 2012," says Juha Andelin of Kesko Food, who is responsible for the Pirkka product range.

"The multi-use, non-disposable Pirkka bag may well become a classic collector's item," adds Andelin.

Pirkka has been part of the everyday lives of Finns for 25 years. Consumers combine many positive images concerning quality, low prices and responsibility, for example, with the Pirkka brand. Pirkka is also a highly valued brand among young consumers. By providing high-quality products to consumers at low prices, Pirkka plays a strong role in everyday lives of Finnish people.

"The core substance of design crystallises in this Pirkka cooperation: I think design is successful when it's part of people's daily lives, providing joy and beauty. The aesthete in me considers everyday beauty important: all those little recurring moments and things our life consists of," says Paola Suhonen.

The new look of the Pirkka non-disposable bag and disposable tableware relies on Ivana Helsinki's design called 'Auringonkehrä', while Pirkka napkins are in addition also decorated with 'Butterfly Garden', 'Tiffany' and 'Camping', the tent design that is already a classic.

Photos can be downloaded at http://aineistopankki.kesko.fi

Paola Suhonen describes cooperation in the video (in Finnish) at http://www.pirkka.fi/ivana

Further information:

Pirkka Manager Juha Andelin, Kesko Food Ltd, tel. +358 10 532 7360, juha.andelin@kesko.fi
Producer Pirjo Suhonen, Ivana Helsinki, tel. +358 50 347 6131, pirjo@ivanahelsinki.com

Kesko (www.kesko.fi) is a retail specialist whose stores offer quality to the daily lives of consumers. Kesko has about 2,000 stores engaged in chain operations in the Nordic and Baltic countries, Russia, and Belarus.