Much loved in Sweden, Solstickan is renown for their special matchboxes. The foundation Solstickan was set up in 1936 to benefit children in need, with the design created by the Swedish artist Einar Nerman who was commissioned to design the box, using a painting of his son as inspiration.
From that day every product sold under the Solstickan brand, a portion of sales goes to the Solstickan Foundation, for the benefit of children and the elderly. This is one of several examples of how Swedish Match works with social responsibility. Since its founding, Solstickan has sold more then 10 billion match boxes, a revenue of nearly SEK100 million since its inception. Today Swedish Match, the producer contributes eight öre per box and five öre per each lighter. Swedish Match also donates additional funds to the foundation since matches are not as popular today as when the foundation was established.
The Board of the Solstickan Foundation is appointed by the government consisting of highly qualified experts in areas relating to children and the elderly with additionally two representatives from Swedish Match. Every year, the board grant’s project funds scholarships to postgraduate students at universities and colleges. The Solstickan award is further presented each year to someone in Sweden who has made a contribution to children or the elderly, preferably outside the framework of his/her normal professional work. The award was established in 1986 to commemorate Solstickan's 50th year.
Solstickan's success is largely due to it receiving strong support from the retail industry and the media straight form the start, and still continues today. But, most importantly, the idea established to show, each small deed matters, symbolized by an inexpensive everyday product. Today he Solstickan design, it is one of Sweden's most recognized symbols and probably one of the world's most widely reproduced artwork. There are now a series of products available at Skandium featuring the characteristic Solstickan design. Again a percentage of the sales from each product will support the work of the foundation.
