"NIKIN" stands for the up-and-coming Lenzburg start-up that has a tree planted for every product - soon to be 1.5 million. But what is actually behind the name "NIKIN"? We explain it to you.
"NIKIN" stands for the up-and-coming Lenzburg start-up that has a tree planted for every product - soon to be 1.5 million. But what is actually behind the name "NIKIN"? We explain it to you.
It all started in late autumn 2016, when two guys met for a beer in the pub and developed an idea. The idea grew into a small regional side project and today, almost five years later, it has become a real company that is known far beyond the borders. From the tiny seed, next to the growing sapling and from there to the sturdy young tree that slowly next grows upwards - just like the approximately 1.2 million trees that have been planted around the world so far thanks to this extraordinary idea.
For almost five years now, the name "NIKIN" has been on everyone's lips, or rather the expression "the one with the trees". It is often the case that when someone is asked about the name NIKIN, all that follows is a questioning shake of the head and a shrug of the shoulders. But if they then add that they are the ones who plant trees, most of them open their eyes and say "aaaha, yes, of course I've heard of them - I even have a TreeShirt and a pair of TreeSocks myself".
But actually our name is "NIKIN", accompanied by our slogan "Tree by Tree" - meaning tree for tree. By the way, NIKIN is pronounced the way it is written, depending on language and emphasis, the "K" is pronounced a little more scratchy or softer. And by the way, the word NIKIN is a palindrome, which means, whether read forwards or backwards, it always means the same.
And where does the name NIKIN actually come from?
What is the literal meaning of "NIKIN"? Is the name derived from a Greek goddess as in the sports giant "Nike"? No, of course not. For this explanation, we have to go back a few years. The name "NIKIN" has an older origin dating back to around 2013.
Nicholas, one of the two founders, already started a small project back then, which he called "NIKIT", derived from his name. What was a worldwide hit back then, but is now rather out of fashion again, were these gym bags, practical backpacks that offered enough space for smaller trips or for sports stuff. Nicholas refined the basic idea of such a bag with sophisticated integrated pockets. His specially developed logo represented the letter "N" on the one hand and two chain links attached to each other. The vision behind this was that Nicholas wanted to combine style and utility with his bags. As it turned out, he succeeded in doing just that. He had around 1,000 bags made in China and shipped them to Switzerland, from where he launched sales via his online shop. The bags sold quickly and soon not only in Lenzburg, Nicholas' home. But it wasn't long before the world-famous snowboard brand "NIKITA" from Iceland came knocking and insisted on its trademark protection rights, which prohibited Nicholas from any further production under the name "NIKIT". So this ambitious project was put on ice for the time being.
Nicholas, Robin and a beer become NIKIN
The story of NIKIN is one of those notorious beer ideas that start with a simple idea and then one thing leads to another. In October 2016, the two childhood friends Nicholas and Robin met for a beer in Lenzburg. The two families are very good friends, Nicholas and Robin already played together in the sandbox, then they attended the scout club together, a little older they skated together in the streets of Lenzburg. And this love of nature is obviously still shared by Zazoo and Simba, as Nicholas and Robin are called in the scout troop - today they are business partners and will soon have planted one and a half million trees.
But one question still remains: what does "NIKIN" mean? "NIKIN" is a combination of the names of the two founders Nicholas and Robin. Funnily enough, they only noticed this coincidence months later. First and foremost, the brand was no longer allowed to be called "NIKIT" and so they agreed on "NIKIN" while still in the pub, because it looked aesthetically beautiful and sounded onomatopoeically cool. The logo has also changed in the meantime - the chain links gradually disappeared and the tree - the typical "NIKIN fir" with a narrow trunk - moved into focus and adorns all our products. And so we will probably always be "the ones with the trees", but we hope that people will also remember the name "NIKIN" in the future.
P.S. "NIKIN" is the only correct spelling. Media companies don't usually write brand names in capital letters, which is why "Nikin" works in these cases. But our name is neither "NICKIN" nor "NIKKIN" nor "NIKON" ;-)
