It was founded in 1936 by Lauri Rapala, who is credited for creating the world's first floating minnow lure carved from cork with a shoemaker's knife, covered with chocolate candy bar wrappers and melted photography film negatives, for a protective outer coating.

The construction of the lure is similar to how they were originally built, with the exception that the core is made from balsa wood instead of cork, and the outer coating is now paint and lacquer.

The company still follows Lauri Rapala's practice of hand-testing each lure produced to make sure it performs as intended.

[4] Their products are sold direct-to-consumer via eCommerce as well as through retailers including Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's in the United States.

A shed was repurposed as a workshop, and Lauri's sons Risto and Ensio started helping with the manufacturing of the lures.

The lures were now properly boxed, and a spinning wheel was fitted with sandpaper in order to bring mechanization into the process.

In the 1950s, the lures were gaining in fame – to such an extent that the Rapala family decided to resign from commercial fishing and farm work in order to fully focus on the blossoming business.

[15] Business picked up rapidly, but the real turn was when an article about Rapala was published in Life magazine.

The immense media exposure spiked the demand, leading the company to build their first factory in Vääksy, Finland in 1962.

The company's latest acquisition took place in 2021 when Rapala purchased rights to the Okuma brand in Europe and Russia.

Rapala has taken the carbon footprint of their lure production as one of their key performance indicators that is assessed on a regular basis.

Even before aligning the sustainability strategy, the company has been active in identifying and minimizing its negative impact on the environment.

The company's lure manufacturing units in Finland and Estonia shifted to renewable energy in 2020, with Marttiini's factories following in 2021.