Catteco

Catteco is a Finnish natural-cosmetics company founded in spring 2016 by Carita and Miika [2]. It makes handmade body and hair products from plant-based oils and botanicals, working out of a small workshop in Rajamäki, a village in the municipality of Nurmijärvi in southern Finland. The company began as a family venture and remains active, selling through its own webshop and a network of Finnish natural-cosmetics retailers.

The brand centres its identity on domestic, small-batch production and plant-derived ingredients. According to the company, its products are entirely handmade in Finland, and it describes its range as "100% vegan and palm oil-free" [2].

Catteco grew out of Carita and Miika's own interest in natural cosmetics and a wish to use plant oils and essential oils for skin and hair care. What started as small-batch production for personal and family use expanded when other people began asking to buy the products [2]. The result was a family business built around handcrafting rather than industrial manufacturing.

Production takes place at a workshop inside Rajamäki's historic Yeast Factory, a building dating to 1888, where the company says all products are made by hand domestically [2]. A 2020 independent review describes the company as "a family business founded in 2016 in Nurmijärvi" — the wider municipality that contains the village of Rajamäki, so both names point to the same location [4].

Catteco's own account puts its catalogue at 39 handmade products for body and hair [2]. Much of the range is built around solid bar formats: shampoo bars sold under names such as Tyrni (sea buckthorn) and Kookos (coconut), conditioner bars including Helmi (Pearl), soap bars such as Tea Tree, a Wild Herb styling gel, and a Rose Fresh deodorant cream. The company also sells Nilotica shea butter on its own.

The formulas draw on plant oils and butters — argan, jojoba, coconut, hemp, castor and sea buckthorn oils alongside Nilotica shea and cocoa butters — plus botanical extracts, clays and apple cider vinegar, with fragrance supplied by essential oils rather than synthetic perfume [3]. The company markets its deodorant and other products as aluminium-free, and presents several of its conditioner bars as compatible with the Curly Girl Method, an approach that favours gentle, residue-free cleansing [1].

Catteco frames its work around authenticity and transparency, and says it translates all of its product ingredient lists into Finnish so customers can read exactly what they are using [2]. The company lists its core values as quality ingredients, effective products, satisfied customers, reasonable pricing and fully domestic production. Its stated mission is, in its own words, to "make high quality natural cosmetics by hand with a big heart in a small workshop" [1].

The brand positions itself within the natural and zero-waste space. It says its products are vegan and palm oil-free [2], and packages them in recyclable cardboard [4]. Catteco carries the Avainlippu (Key Flag) mark, a Finnish label that certifies domestic origin of a product or service [2], and describes itself as a member of Suomen Ekoyrittäjät, the Finnish Eco-Entrepreneurs association. No animal-welfare or organic certification such as Leaping Bunny or a COSMOS standard is documented.

Third-party coverage of Catteco is limited. The Finnish vegan beauty and fashion blog Rabbit Glow reviewed the company's bar shampoos and conditioners in a piece first published in March 2020 and updated in March 2025, praising their cleansing power and mild scent [4]. No wider press or industry awards are documented.

Catteco is an active, single-market brand. It sells through its own webshop and several Finnish natural-cosmetics retailers, and its products were still being reviewed and stocked as of 2025 [4]. The company states that worldwide shipping is available, though its footprint remains concentrated in Finland.