Overview
Cailap is a Finnish family business based in Turku that sells accessories and beauty tools rather than formulated cosmetics. Founded in 1977, it offers jewellery, hair accessories, beauty implements, sunglasses and reading glasses, and has remained a family-run company across more than four decades [2]. It is owned by Cailap Oy Marketing and remains active, with a current Spring 2026 collection and a recent expansion into Sweden and the wider Nordic market.
The company name is a blend of its two founders' nicknames: brothers Lauri "Lapa" Laurmaa and Kaj "Caius" Laurmaa combined "Caius" and "Lapa" into Cailap [1]. The brand positions beauty as a matter of self-care and everyday confidence rather than something superficial.
⚑ Thinner sourcing. The article relies largely on the brand's own statements (T2–T3). Glowpedia is seeking independent sources.
Origin and founders
Cailap was started in 1977 by the brothers Lauri and Kaj Laurmaa [1]. According to the company, the venture moved to full-time operation in 1978 after being noticed in the press. Its commercial breakthrough came in 1980, when it distributed the Björn Borg "Crossing Arrows" jewellery line in Finland [1] — a historical brand association rather than a personal endorsement by the tennis player.
History and milestones
Through the 1990s the company broadened beyond jewellery, adding hair products, beauty tools and eyewear to its range [1]. In 1998 it took on Moomin-themed products under an exclusive licence, a children's line it has carried ever since [6].
A generational handover followed in 2019, when the founders' daughters took over the business: Hanna Laurmaa as chief executive and Heidi Laurmaa as product manager [1]. In 2025 the company expanded into Sweden and the Nordic markets, extending a business that had operated chiefly in Finland for most of its history [1].
Ownership
Cailap trades under the legal entity Cailap Oy Marketing, registered at Kauppiaskatu 5 B in Turku, in southwest Finland [7]. The company describes itself as a family business, and since the 2019 succession it has been led by the second generation of the founding family.
Philosophy and positioning
Cailap frames beauty as self-care and feeling good rather than as something superficial, and says it wants customers to "feel gorgeous and confident in your own skin every day" [2]. The company lists core values including a quality-first approach, corporate responsibility, customer-centricity, trust and what it calls "humanness." Its tagline, "Asusteet ja kauneusvälineet jokaiseen päivään," translates as "accessories and beauty tools for every day."
The brand operates as a self-described "100% Finnish online shop" and sells both directly to consumers and through retailers. Its catalogue spans jewellery, hair accessories, cosmetics bags, makeup and nail-care tools, sunglasses, reading glasses, blue-light glasses and children's products.
Products
Cailap's range centres on accessories and tools rather than skincare or makeup formulations. Its main groups are beauty tools, jewellery, hair accessories and optical products such as sunglasses and reading glasses [1]. The company describes its beauty tools as offering "the best price-quality-ratio on the market" [2].
The Moomin by Cailap line, made under exclusive licence since 1998, remains a notable part of the portfolio and is aimed at children [6]. Among current ranges, the company lists collections such as Moomin by Cailap, Silver Stories and a Cailap Kevät (Spring) 2026 collection.
Sustainability
Cailap states that it manufactures through long-term partners in Europe and Asia and is a member of the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI), which oversees supply-chain social standards [4]. The company says it reduces plastic in its products and aims to eliminate unnecessary packaging plastic entirely, and that it invests in quality and "timeless design" so that products last longer [4]. It notes that its products comply with Finnish safety requirements and the EU's REACH chemical regulation. The company also reports that it has no specific environmental certifications, such as an ecolabel, and publishes no measurable emissions targets.
Current status
Cailap is active. Its online shop carries a current Spring 2026 collection, its social channels remain in use, and its 2025 move into Sweden and the Nordics points to ongoing expansion of a company that has traded continuously since 1977.
Sources
T1 primary · T2 secondary · T3 note- [1]T1cailap.com/fi/meista/cailap.com (brand site)
- [2]T2cailap.com/fi/in-english/cailap.com (brand site)
- [4]T2cailap.com/fi/vastuullisuus/cailap.com (brand site)
- [6]T4moominproducts.com/cailap/moominproducts.com
- [7]T4fi.linkedin.com/company/cailap-oy-marketingfi.linkedin.com


