Full steam ahead for Winnipeg start-up

Three longtime friends are pursuing their dream of helping others let off some steam.

Jonathan Dyck-Lyons, Anthony Kowalczyk and Jonathan Mutch are the founders of Saunder Sauna Tents Inc., a Winnipeg start-up that aims to make saunas portable and accessible.

Launched earlier this fall, the company’s flagship product is an all-season sauna that retails for $2,299. The 50-kilogram package includes a tent made with insulated, quilted fabric and a stainless steel stove. No tools are required during set up, which Dyck-Lyons said takes half an hour.

“From start to sweat in 30 minutes,” he said.

The saunas are available across Canada via Saunder’s website. Since launching the company in September, the founders said they have received orders from Vancouver to Ottawa. Most have come from people who enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking, cycling and cross-country skiing, which is the target demographic for the product.

“That’s really where we’re positioning it,” Kowalczyk said. “Go out, do what you need to do and come back for a sauna. The whole tagline is, ‘Anytime, anywhere.’”

Dyck-Lyons said he has come across companies in the U.S. and Finland that offer similar products, but nothing in Canada. He believes Saunder can fill that gap.

“This is one of the most Canadian products we can think of,” he said.

Dyck-Lyons, a high school film and video effects teacher, has been friends with Mutch, a creative director at an ad agency in Toronto, since they were children. They got to know Kowalczyk, now a partner at a digital media buying agency, in middle school.

The three friends came up with the idea for Saunder in 2024 during their annual fishing trip in northwestern Ontario.

For years, they fashioned makeshift saunas using tents and stoves they bought on Facebook Marketplace so that they could sweat it out when not on the lake.

Last year, they made a sauna using a fishing tent. While it wasn’t perfect, the trio were surprised by how hot it got. They realized that with a few design upgrades, they could create a product to sell to others.

“We saw this opportunity,” Dyck-Lyons said. “Not only can we offer a really great product, but also something that encourages people to enjoy the sauna experience in the way that we do as friends.”

Kowalczyk grew up using saunas and finds they help him unwind and connect with friends and family.

“It kind of brings everyone together,” he said.

The company’s name is a play on the word “sonder,” which Merriam-Webster defines as “the awareness that other people all have their own complex set of feelings and experiences” — the kind of awareness one might come to after disconnecting from electronic devices and taking time to relax in a sauna, Dyck-Lyons said.

Saunder’s arrival comes at a time when the global sauna market is heating up.

It was valued at US$904.9 million last year and is expected to exceed $1.5 billion by 2033, according to Grand View Research. During that time, the Canadian market is expected to grow six per cent annually.

Wellness trends, technological advancements and evolving consumer preferences are among the reasons for growth, according to Grand View.

Saunder’s founders say they are building the company as a lifestyle brand and that they’re designing accessories to sell alongside the saunas.

“We’re aiming to be the premier portable sauna company in Canada,” Dyck-Lyons said.

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca