Two winning companies from Etelä-Tapiolan Lukio: student entrepreneurs bring out healthier energy drinks and a unique snack product

Haltija JA is managed by four second-year students: Simo Sertti, Elias Eggen, Raymond Qiu and Harald Hagström. The young entrepreneurs of Alegría JA are Thomas Veittikoski, Ohto Friman, Aaro Eskelinen, Eero Vainio and Niko Salminen.

Junior Achievement Finland’s JA Company Program for schools and educational institutions provides young people with an opportunity to try entrepreneurship without taking any risks. This allows them to learn an abundance of skills needed in future working life. One of the students in last year’s Halla JA recommended the JA Company Program to Simo.

“I joined the JA Company Program because I was interested in this experience and entrepreneurship,” says Aaro.

“There are entrepreneurs in my family and I have gained positive experiences of enterprising,” explains Thomas.

Haltija JA produces energy drinks made from Finnish raspberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants and forest berries (the drink contains added caffeine). These drinks are intended to serve as a healthier Finnish alternative to traditional energy drinks. Two different Haltija products are available: a larger 330 ml bottle and a smaller 50 ml shot bottle. The drink is sweetened with honey.

“We started by making smoothies, but they are usually associated with relaxation, and we specifically wanted something that energises you. We only switched to this product a couple of weeks before the regional event,” Elias explains.

The drink is made with shop-bought frozen berries. “We can't pick our own berries because they're only available seasonally. We hadn’t even had the idea for this company when forest berries were in season,” Elias tells us. The JA Company Program was launched in October, and it will end in May.

Alegría JA makes snack products with amaranth grains. Amaranth is a highly popular superfood in Mexico. Niko Salminen has Mexican roots, and he suggested making a product with this grain. While amaranth is sold in Finland, no products have been made with it before. The company’s name also came from Niko; the word alegría means joy and also refers to a small snack made with amaranth, such as the company's product.

In Alegría’s product, amaranth is mixed with honey and dark chocolate. Alegría first tried to make bars but this proved too difficult, and now the product is sold in slices. The slices are packed in handy 90-gram bags which are easy to carry, for example when going on a hike.

“I designed the company logo, too, which also reflects my Mexican roots. It’s kind of similar to the logo of the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico. And the red brings to mind the amaranth flower.”

In both companies, everyone has a designated role. “The roles are assigned according to what you want to do, or what the others think you’re good at,” Aaro says. In Alegría, for example, Niko handles social media and graphic design “because he is the best at it” and Aaro is the Sales Manager “because Aaro is so good at selling things”. Decisions are made together in the companies, and help is always available from others. The young people sincerely praise their fellow entrepreneurs for their skills.

All students have enjoyed being entrepreneurs:

“The best thing about it is that you can carry out plans and do things together,” says Thomas.

“Your product is like your own little baby – this is why getting the award for the best product was so great,” notes Ohto.

“This gives us a lot of experience of all sorts of things,” says Aaro.

“I have been able to try out something new and do my own thing,” Eero comments.

“When running a JA company, you can experience something new without the disadvantages of enterprising,” Raymond points out. A JA company can earn up to EUR 10,000 without paying tax.

“You gain experience and have fun doing things. There was never a dull moment. I can do things that I like; I enjoy talking and experiencing new things,” explains Elias, Marketing Manager of the company.

“Entrepreneurs have the freedom to do their own thing and also carry the responsibility for it; you can innovate and develop things yourself.”

While JA entrepreneurship is usually great fun, not everything is always easy, trouble-free or even fun. Sometimes solutions are hard to come by and nothing seems to work. Juggling is also needed when you have to divide your time between studying, the company and hobbies. Entrepreneurship additionally requires creativity, which is in short supply at times. The young people sometimes also have their differences, not to say arguments. “We learned to deal with disagreements and find solutions to them,” Thomas says. “Either we make a joint decision, or we find a solution between the different options,” Elias continues.

All young people in Etelä-Tapiolan Lukio General Upper Secondary School have a positive attitude towards entrepreneurship as a future career choice. It is perceived as one of the options. “I will not go out of my way to become an entrepreneur, but if an opportunity turns up, I can grasp it,” Aaro says.

This academic year, Katri Råglund is the teacher in charge of the JA Company students. “Teaching this course is so much fun. The students get to know each other better. The teacher stays in the background, unlike in other lessons,” Katri says. She is pleased about the good spirit among the entrepreneurs, also between the companies. The young people support each other.

The Uskalla yrittää finals and the national JA Company finals will be held in the Mall of Tripla in Helsinki on 23–24 April 2025. Before the finals, Haltija JA and Alegría JA aim to get their products into shops. They will also develop their products, and new flavours are on the cards; Alegría’s goals include making a blueberry-flavoured product. Sustainability also plays a large role in their plans. At the regional event, the dark chocolate in Alegría’s product was Rainforest UTZ certified, but by the time of the final it will be replaced with a Fair Trade product. Before the finals, the companies promise to expand their marketing and also upgrade their websites.

“We are going all out to win,” Simo sums up what everyone is thinking.