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For the past few years, the Japanese sauna market has been thriving. Valued at USD 40.6 million in 2024, the country’s sauna market is expected to reach USD 66.2 million by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 8.6% between 2025 and 2030.
What has been dubbed ‘the 3rd sauna boom’, has seen the renovation of traditional bathing houses to include saunas, and the construction of outstanding new sauna and spa facilities, both to support, but also driven by the emergence of 1 million new sauna users annually, for a current estimated total amount of almost 18 million Japanese sauna-goers.
Introduced in the country in the 1960s, far from being a temporary fashion, sauna has evolved into a unique part of Japanese lifestyle, with its own vocabulary, specialists, influencers, followers and media.
Of course Finland, as the globally acknowledged sauna’s motherland, is a reference on the market, but opportunities are also open to other types of non strictly Finnish-style (dry, mist and especially infrared, saunas), as well as sauna-related products, spanning from cool accessories and clothing, to hats and apparel, to consulting, stoves or smart technologies, and even architecture and tourism.
The webinar will analyse the various interconnected elements - a new subculture rooted in tradition, post-covid spreading health consciousness and need for human connections, but also the much praised and felt ‘totonou’ effect - that are driving this sauna boom and the relevance this has for sauna producers and sauna-related products and services.
By providing updated information about market players and users, this webinar is a useful tool for EU companies seeking to newly develop or strengthen their current positions in Japan’s sauna market. Not only by indicating current figures and projections, but especially by analysing the cultural and social background that is feeding the current sauna market boom in Japan.
The webinar is targeted to European
In 40 minutes from your desk, discover:
Programme:
Speaker: Renata Piazza, freelance consultant and project manager.
BA in Japanese Culture (Ca’ Foscari, Venice) and MSc in Politics of Asia (SOAS, London). Professional experience across public and private sectors, including aviation, banking, tourism, NGOs, and government institutions in Japan, the UK, Spain, and Italy.
Since 2013, involved in cross-border network building and knowledge exchange with small businesses, organisations, and local administrations, focusing on environmental sustainability, social innovation, and post-growth economic models. Experience as founder, co-founder, and coordinator of various initiatives in Europe and Japan, managing cultural, business, and institutional events—ranging from exhibitions and seminars to meetings at ministerial and embassy level.
Work includes the design and implementation of programs related to organic farming, local gastronomy, vernacular architecture, and other sustainability-oriented practices, delivered through fieldwork, workshops, and study visits. Coordination of tailored experiences for niche groups, and participation in transnational projects as facilitator and advisor. Recent focus on independent research supporting SMEs in understanding foreign markets and accessing culture-based, sector-specific knowledge.
Moderator: Sofia Smerzi, Business Support Coordinator, EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation
Organiser: EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation - Brussels Office
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