PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PATH MAKERS

Tuotekehityksen tiennäyttäjät

Product development strategies, resources, capabilities and experts are vital for every nation’s future success and corporate’s competitiveness – as well as for tackling global challenges. Product Development Path Makers is a national award directing attention to how product development opens new pathways, established in 2024. Aalto Design Factory, Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland (TEK), the City of Espoo, Technology Industries of Finland, Chemical Industry Federation of Finland, TT-säätiö, and Finnish Forest Industries have teamed up for 2025 to continue with the award. 

What is the Product Development Path Makers award?

The Product Development Path Makers award seeks to recognize inspiring experiments, projects, initiatives or activities that have opened up new types of opportunities and/or impact in product development. Nominees are evaluated in terms of 

• pioneering new product development practices, 
• bold and successful experimentation challenging established norms, and 
• potential to generate novel user/customer value beyond the experiment or activity itself.

For example, a winning experiment or activity could have piloted a new way of co-creating with users, reflect a new type of development collaboration across a network of organizations, or created new methods to support identifying circular innovation opportunities. The award can be granted to a project team or community of people that has enacted the experiment or activity.

2025 AWARD WINNERS

Congratulations to the winners of Product Development Path Makers 2025!

EKMAN AWARD WINNER: ENTTERI

Overcoming adoption barriers with Entteri’s dental x-ray analysis software

Entteri launched an AI-powered dental X-ray analysis system free of charge to half of Finland’s private oral healthcare sector, helping overcome the conservative market’s hesitation toward new technology and enabling large-scale real-world testing. This bold “freemium” strategy accelerates feedback, streamlines clinical workflows, and builds a strong domestic reference base for international growth and future premium features.

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SAAB

Bringing product-driven innovation to conservative defence industry

Saab Finland revitalized traditional defense development by adopting a startup-style, product-driven approach focused on rapid prototyping, early feedback, and independent product creation. This agile model, built on reusable technology platforms, has accelerated development and reignited an entrepreneurial culture within a traditionally rigid industry.

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BETOLAR

Reimagining sustainable concrete production at Betolar

Betolar’s Geoprime technology replaces cement with industrial side streams and activators. Using a pilot-driven, data-rich approach supported by AI, Betolar rapidly developed and commercialized low-carbon concrete recipes worldwide – demonstrating a scalable, circular alternative to traditional cement while advancing sustainable construction and material recovery.

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UUTE SCIENTIFIC

Customer-driven iteration in Uute Scientific’s multi-industry microbial extract

Uute Scientific developed production for microbial extract that restores natural biodiversity to support immune health, using a customer-driven, “learn fast” approach. Starting from real demand, the team rapidly scaled production and adapted the core innovation across multiple industries, showcasing agile, market-led biotechnology development.

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The Product Development Path Makers Award Ceremony – 10.12.2025

We gathered for an evening of inspiration and recognition, celebrating the pioneers shaping the future of product development.

The Product Development Path Makers Award Ceremony was held on December 10, 2025, at The Stage, Viima (Puumiehenkuja 5), beginning at 16:00.

The event brought together some of the brightest minds in the field to honor the teams and projects that exemplify the true path-making spirit. The atmosphere was electric as we celebrated the groundbreaking achievements now pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this unforgettable celebration.

The photos from the night’s celebration are now available on Flickr.