The size of the global sauna and spa market is over three billion euros. Harvia is a global leader in the sauna and spa market. According to the management’s estimate, Harvia’s share of the sauna and spa market has increased during the last few years. In 2023 Harvia’s share of the sauna and spa market was estimated to be 5%, and the company’s share of the sauna heater and sauna component market was estimated to be over 20%. According to Harvia’s estimate, there are approximately 18 million saunas in the world, which generates a significant aftermarket for saunas and sauna heaters. Due to the stable demand that arises from the need to replace sauna heaters regularly, the sauna and spa market has been traditionally resilient to economic downturns. This has been true especially for the more mature sauna markets.
The market for saunas and spas has historically been non-cyclical due to the large stock of saunas existing and in particular the replacement demand arising from the frequent need to replace heaters.
The frequency of heater replacement largely depends on where and how the sauna is used. In hard professional use, such as spas, for example, heaters are often replaced every 3–4 years.
Historically, the sauna and spa market has grown annually by an average of 5%. However, the market growth was significantly higher during the COVID-19 induced lockdowns prior to 2022, when the demand was fueled by increasing awareness of the health benefits of sauna and the home improvement boom. The awareness of sauna and its health benefits has continued to grow also after the pandemic.
In general, the sauna and spa market tends to witness some seasonality with slightly stronger demand in the early and late part of the year and lower during the summer months. During the pandemic, this was hardly visible, but in 2023 there were signs that the seasonality in demand is returning closer to the historical patterns.
Especially in Europe, the sauna and spa market has been heavily impacted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the wider economic development afterwards. At the end of 2022 and during 2023, high economic uncertainty, elevated inflation and interest rates, as well as eroded consumer confidence widely affected the European sauna and spa market across product segments. However, the negative impacts have not been equally strong in all European countries. During the fourth quarter, the market conditions started to show signs of stabilization in Central Europe. In Finland and Scandinavia, where the demand has traditionally been very resilient in economic downturns, the market conditions remained challenging as high interest rates, challenges in the construction sector and weak consumer confidence continued to prevail.
Outside Europe, especially in North America and Asia, the sauna and spa market has continued to grow also after the pandemic. The strong growth in North America has been heavily supported by the growing awareness of sauna and its health benefits as well as strong consumer confidence and economic conditions. The demand in market areas outside Europe continues to be skewed towards more high-end products, especially compared to Finland. The increase in the popularity of sauna, low but increasing sauna penetration, and resilient high-end demand continue to support market growth in the emerging sauna and spa markets.
The key market drivers include the construction of new saunas and the replacement of old saunas, heaters and sauna components.
Drivers for the new build market of saunas and spas include:
In addition to the factors driving the piece volume of sauna sales, the value of the sauna and spa market is also growing due to an increase in the average purchase price of saunas and the construction of larger sauna premises.
