The year 2025 is coming to an end, so once again it’s time to sit down and look back at the past year. For Paahtu, the year has been important and educational, and it has included a lot of different things. The journey has included successes and growth, but also challenges.
Kahviklapi launched to the market
At the beginning of the year, the moment we had been waiting for a long time finally arrived. January was the month when an idea and hundreds of prototypes turned into something concrete as we launched Kahviklapi to the market. We set ourselves a goal of selling 100 packages in one month, but we even surprised ourselves when we sold an impressive 130 packages in just three weeks! The launch was an important milestone for us and strengthened our belief that there is real demand for Kahviklapi.
A spring full of new experiences
In March, the Paahtajat headed both to Switzerland for Start Summit and to Vantaa for Talent Hack Day – so we truly saw the world from one edge to the other!
At the Start Summit startup event, we had the opportunity to present the Kahviklapi concept to an international audience and network with event participants. The trip abroad offered us a great opportunity to meet potential investors and partners.
At Talent Hack Day, we were one of three companies, alongside Vaisala and Startup Refugees, presenting our challenge to international students and recent graduates to be solved. The event brought us valuable new perspectives.
From the kitchen to the factory
After working for over a year in our founder’s kitchen, we finally moved into a real factory in April. (As our founder’s wife always said: “I really want you to succeed – not for the money, but so I can get my kitchen back.”)
Collaboration with Tallink Silja Line
At the end of spring, we started a collaboration with Tallink Silja Line with the goal of developing more responsible and innovative recycling solutions.
A single Helsinki–Stockholm cruise can generate up to a couple of hundred kilos of coffee grounds, and now all of that goes to good use as our coffee logs! Since the collaboration began, the used coffee grounds from the cruise ship Silja Serenade have no longer ended up as bio waste. This was a big and significant step forward for us, as the collaboration secures raw materials for producing Kahviklapi.
Winning the Maria 01 Now Pitching competition
In June, we participated in the Maria 01 Now Pitching competition, which included 100 startup companies from 20 different countries. Our founder, Bahez Karim, had the honor of receiving the Sustainability and Green Technology category award at Helsinki’s innovation campus – somewhat by chance, right after a trip to the restroom!
The experience was intense and educational. Three minutes of pitching, tough questions from the judges, and finally an incredible moment of victory. Participating and winning opened new collaboration opportunities, increased our visibility, and strengthened our vision toward a more sustainable future.
Paahtu in media, newspapers and publications
In 2025, Paahtu also gained a lot of attention in the media. Our product and our story of sustainable use of coffee grounds interested several newspapers. Articles about us were published in Maaseudun Tulevaisuus, Tekniikka & Talous, Kauppalehti, Sipoon Sanomat, Baltic Transport Journal, and HAMK publications. The articles highlighted both the ecological nature of Kahviklapi and Paahtu’s growth story as a startup.
One of the most significant moments of the year was participating in Yle’s Puoli seitsemän TV program. We had the opportunity to bring Kahviklapi to the awareness of a wide audience and explain in more detail our idea of how coffee grounds can be turned into a new kind of sustainable energy solution.
In addition, our founder Bahez represented Paahtu on the international Rudaw TV program, where he shared our vision with an international audience. It was important for us to see that interest in our product extends beyond Finland’s borders.
The media attention we received increased our visibility, strengthened our credibility, and helped us reach customers who share our values of sustainable development. It was important to us that our passion and work with Paahtu were widely visible in the media.
Website renewal
In 2025, we also renewed Paahtu’s website. Our goal was to make the website clearer, more functional, more user-friendly, and more reflective of who we are. Thanks to the renewed site, it is now easier and clearer for our customers to understand the purpose of Kahviklapi, its benefits, and Paahtu’s story.
Expanding our collaboration network
This year, we also expanded our collaboration with various partners. We started collecting coffee grounds at the Helsinki Coffee Week Roast Fest, where we also had the chance to meet other coffee industry players and share thoughts on a more responsible coffee culture. Can you believe that in just one day, we collected coffee grounds from over two thousand cups?
Challenges in production
However, the entire year did not go without problems. We faced several production-related challenges that delayed the delivery of pre-orders. The situation was very stressful for the team, and many nights were short on sleep.
After persistent work, we finally got the production line running, and in November we were able to deliver pre-orders to our customers even personally, straight to their doorsteps! The moment was relieving and rewarding for us.
In addition, in December we experienced another significant moment when we sold out the first batch of 100 units in just a few hours to our waiting list. This was possible because we had successfully delivered all pre-orders on time and made our manual production line operate reliably.
Looking ahead
The year has been full of learning, growth, and brave steps forward. We are proud of what we have achieved and, above all, grateful to all the customers, partners, and supporters who have been part of our journey.
In 2026, we will focus on taking Paahtu to the next level. Our goal is to build a functional production line and bring Kahviklapi to a wider range of retailers across Finland. Our goal is also to develop logistics, and we have a great opportunity to do so by piloting a coffee grounds collection model in collaboration with the City of Vantaa, supported by EU funding. Next year, we will focus especially on ensuring that everything we do is centered around meeting people’s needs and expectations. We are looking forward to the coming year and new opportunities to develop Paahtu and Kahviklapi even further.
