AUGUST 2021 | SCANDINAVIAN MONTHLY
Swedish Life Paint Conquers the World Text Tor Kjolberg
Swedish Albedo 100 produces spray paint with a number of application areas: The various spray paints can be applied to textiles, wood, plastic, metal – and fur, something that has created excitement in the North Calotte’s reindeer industry. Learn more about the Swedish life paint that conquers the world.
Albedo100! a series of sprays with light-reflective properties that make objects and clothing visible in low-light conditions. Albedo is in fact a measure of how reflective an object, usually a planet or moon, is – how much of the incident light is reflected by the object. Despite how bright they are, the earth’s albedo is only about 0.3, meaning 30% of light is reflected, and our moon when full is only about 0.5, or 50% of light reflected. Related: Doing Business in Sweden
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The first viral sharing of the products created a buzz around the globe – it The Albedo 100 promise is “Be was about Safe Be Seen” reflective reindeer. In 2014, the products were produced in USA to support the demand in Americas and spread through distribution in 13 countries.
Reflecting reindeer The second store was opened in Uppsala in 2006, and in 2012, the range of spray-pant was broadened to art supplies and clothes. In 2013, a small group of inventors got together to create a spray on reflector – now called
The cycling and reflective market In 2015, Volvo Life Paint was released in UK and caused an international stir in the cycling and reflective market. Same year, Albedo 100 was nominated as one of the 30 best innovations in the world.
The Albedo 100 promise is “Be Safe Be Seen”. The story begins at the end of the 1990s when spray-pant was sold by the founders to family and friends from a small storage in Uppsala, north of Stockholm. The first store opened in the fall of 2001. In order to reach out to the rest of Sweden, the first webstore was released in 2003.
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The first viral sharing of the products created a buzz around the globe – it was about reflective reindeer. Here’s a horse sprayed with Albedo 100.
Related: Hand-Made Brushes From Sweden Albedo100’s spray is a “permanent formula that dries a matte gray and can last up to three months, defying wind, rain, and UV rays.” It’s intended for use on hard surfaces, and it works best on concrete, metal, stones, and wood. Spray it directly on your bike frame, walking stick, sports equipment, shoes, or helmet to greatly increase your visibility and safety outdoors at night. In 2016 distribution expanded to 23 more countries and since then Albedo 100 has conquered the world.
In 2015, Albedo 100 was nominated as one of the 30 best innovations in the world.
All images © Albedo 100
