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The creation of a design icon
Holger Nielsen is the man behind the design icon, the Vipp pedal bin. The idea for this functional and aesthetic waste bin arose in 1939 when Holger Nielsen’s wife, Marie Nielsen, opened her own hairdressing salon. The bin soon became a popular item that sold particularly well to doctors’ and dentists’ clinics. In 1992, Holger Nielsen passed away at the age of 78. He did not leave any plans for the company’s future. Until then, Jette Egelund had never imagined that she would carry on the company, but her father’s passing made her consider taking over Vipp to add new energy and a more modern vision to the company. The decision to take over Vipp meant that Jette Egelund had to give up her job on the Danish island of Zealand and create a new work life in Jutland.

The first few years at the helm of the company were difficult for Jette Egelund. The company had cash-flow problems, and Jette Egelund had to handle everything herself. Sometimes, her two children, Kasper and Sofie Egelund would help out, when they came to Jutland for weekend visits. Despite the difficulties, Jette Egelund and her two children had a firm belief in the quality of the Vipp pedal bin. “It is both old and new in its design. It’s an evergreen. I have looked at it all my life, and I’m still not tired of it. So, from the beginning, I was convinced that it had good possibilities both in Denmark and abroad,” says Jette Egelund.

In the late 1990’s, the production facility in Randers was so worn down that Jette Egelund began to outsource production components. In 1999, Jette Egelund found a company in the Danish town of Nakskov that was able to handle the entire production process. The outsourcing made Jette Egelund close down the plant in Randers and move back to Zealand to run the company from there. “The decision to outsource all production to Nakskov and move the HQ to Copenhagen made it much easier to involve Sofie and Kasper in the decision-making and new initiatives in the company. Besides, it enabled me to focus on the main thing: profiling the Vipp products to the customers,” says Jette Egelund. 

The relocation meant a change in Vipp’s business concept. Outsourcing production freed up resources for focusing on sales. “We set out as a company whose main target groups were contract customers – dental clinics, hairdressers, restaurants and hospitals. Gradually, we turned our attention to private customers and modified our communication to match this new target group. Since our change in strategy, our brochures, ads and overall profiling have been aimed at the end-user: any man or woman who is looking for quality products for the home”, says Jette Egelund. The changes in Vipp’s business concept led to growing sales and profits, which enabled Vipp to relocate to an exclusive location on Islands Brygge on the Copenhagen harbour front in 2002. Ever since, Vipp has had its HQ in recently renovated buildings on Islands Brygge, with offices for the 35 employees.

Vipp’s design philosophy
For Sofie, Kasper and Jette Egelund, the good design product has been the key to success for Vipp. That is also the reason why design plays such an essential and visible role in the company on an everyday basis. In addition to the in-house design & product manager, the company includes external design assistance for new design tasks to ensure that Vipp is always able to provide the best design solutions.

Jette Egelund set herself the first design assignment back in 1997. She wanted to expand the product line in order to create renewed awareness of Vipp and decided to design a toilet brush. She based the design on the existing Vipp design in order to match the existing quality, design and materials. The next expansion happened in 2005, as Vipp put out a soap dispenser and matching towels. For this design process, the company hired an industrial designer and a textile designer to ensure the best possible solution.

Another characteristic feature of all the design processes at Vipp is that Design & Product Manager Morten Bo Jensen maintains a close dialogue with the designers and product developers throughout the process. He keeps the development process on track at all times in order to develop end-products that live up to the high standards for design and materials that Holger Nielsen set with the Vipp pedal bin in 1939. “In close collaboration with Kasper, Sofie and myself, Morten helps ensure that the Vipp DNA is present in all our products,” says Jette Egelund.