Having recently developed the UPM Grada ™ Plywood - new materials and processes that allow for the production of more durable and stronger bonds in plywood - UPM challenged the students from Aalto University and Kyoto Institute of Technology to create a product that opens up new opportunities for this technology. To kick-start the need-finding process, UPM wondered if their technology could be used to solve packaging waste.

The student design team began to look into the social security Kela maternity packages in Finland. These packages not only provide expecting families with products that will help both mom and baby (i.e. baby clothes, formula, diapers, breastfeeding equipment) but the package itself can also function as a makeshift crib. These packages ease what the student design team found to be a prominent factor in growing families: financial hardships.   

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Taking inspiration from both UPM and the maternity box, the student design team decided that they could go a little further in making life comfortable for new additions to the family. Thus, they created the Tupa, a multi-functional baby product which can be turned into:

• An infant/baby bed with a rocking crib

• A table, chairs, and/or stepping stools

• A toy box/memory box

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Overall, the Tupa can save families up to 710 EUR (~86,000 JPY) with its combination of furniture. By providing a multi-functional baby product with the help of UPM’s new technology, the design team hopes to ease the financial weight placed on new families so that they can better enjoy life’s most precious package.