ERT ON TOUR


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‘It’s about taking something ordinary, and making it better’


Swedish brand Aarke has quietly built a reputation for rethinking everyday kitchen appliances through design and engineering. Will McGill speaks to Founders Carl Ljungh and Jonas Groth about building a premium brand rooted in simplicity, durability and detail.


F


ounded in Stockholm in 2013 by industrial designers Carl Ljungh and Jonas Groth, Aarke is still a relatively young company, and many people may not have heard of the brand yet for


exactly that reason. But despite only being around for just over a decade, the Swedish brand has quickly built a reputation for transforming everyday kitchen appliances into premium design objects. Rather than emerging as a traditional start-up backed by investors and rigid business plans, Aarke grew gradually from years of consultancy work. After spending nearly 15 years designing products for companies including Sony, Samsung, Philips and Electrolux, the Founders realised they were helping shape entire brands without ever owning the outcome. “We didn’t just design the product,” says Mr


Groth. “We did the packaging, the logo, the website, sometimes even how it should look in retail.” That experience eventually pushed them towards creating something of their own. But


deciding to launch a company was easier than deciding what it should become. “We didn’t chase a trend,” says Mr Ljungh.


“We mapped everything we had learned over 15 years. What worked, what didn’t, and what still had room to be made better.” As designers, they were trained to spot opportunities, but they also wanted to avoid creating “just another design product”. The breakthrough came when they looked closely at the modern kitchen. “In Scandinavia, there was this huge focus on interiors,” says Mr Groth. “Furniture, lighting, materials - people really care about how their homes look.”


“And then you look at the kitchen countertop,” Mr Ljungh adds. “And yet so little of it has been given any real thought.”


Philosophy


That contrast became central to Aarke’s philosophy: improving overlooked routines through thoughtful design and engineering.


“At the heart of what we do is understanding human behaviour,” says Mr Ljungh. “How people move through their day, the routines they repeat without thinking.” The product that would eventually launch the company had actually been explored years earlier during their consultancy days: a premium carbonator


inspired by Italian


espresso machines and built from durable materials.


Large players dominated the market, and most profits came from gas refills rather than the machines themselves. Still, the idea stayed with them. At the same time, wider consumer trends were beginning to support it. “We saw health becoming more important,” says Mr Ljungh. “People moving away from sugary drinks, rethinking single-use packaging. It all pointed in the same direction.” “Home carbonation made sense,” Mr Groth adds. “Though there is always that question: is there a gap in the market, but is there a market in the gap?”


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