We didn't know anything about the brand until we started seeing their products being used by some of the best triathletes in the world, so we decided to 'strike' by talking to their communication director Fabrice Hay-Veran, a man who wears the 'poison' of the triathlon in his marked veins, so that he could tell us something more about the brand and its meteoric progression in the first person.
Amazing the speed at which EKOÏ has grown to become one of the most important brands in both cycling and triathlon. Can you tell us what those first years of the company were like?
We go back to 2001, just 20 years ago, so we're not that new. From that year 2001 to 2008 we were dedicated to the distribution of the product in the classic way, working with wholesalers. In 2008 we created the web, simply to test and success came immediately. We had more and more demand from the end customer to buy our products. We immediately try to sponsor an athlete both on the road and in triathlon, to have good information for the web and also to promote the brand.
In triathlon our first athlete was Olivier Marceau, you know him, right? He was a triathlon world champion, he trusted EKOÏ and he helped us a lot to design the time trial helmet. Then we had Xavier Le Floch who was also a world champion and winner of Ultraman in 2009 I think and little by little we entered the world of triathlon, with good champions.
It was very important for EKOÏ to enter this world because triathletes have a more open mind. On the road we have the problem that most riders are very conservative and, for example, they are interested in Giro, Bell, Specialized... but they are not interested in or trust a new brand. The triathlete is concerned about performance and that's where we come in.
No one doubts that EKOÏ is a success story, what has been the secret of that success for you?
There are a lot of details: because we sell direct to the consumer, because we are a small company with a very fast reaction capacity and we can create and produce products very quickly, we can make limited editions, with the colors that work best in each moment, changing the sizes, the design... and we are also successful because we put a lot of passion into it, we are around 50 people here and we are all passionate about cycling or triathlon, that is very important to create good products, with a great team spirit .
We want to make good products, we want to be successful, we are very proud of the products we have created and I think we respect the consumer a lot, because we like this sport and because our goal is to create the best with good value for money, for us it is normal to create good products, distribute them very well, I think these are the main differences with other companies. Many only seek profitability, to do business, they do not have the ingredient of passion and that does not work.
I have to add something, I am new to EKOÏ, I started 6 months ago and I worked for another company in the bicycle sector and for me, what I recognize in the company is their great agility and that they never stop, it is not just that they have released the 2021 range very quickly and immediately the 2022, it is constant energy, flexibility, they adapt, they work on new products with a lot of energy... and the other point that I would highlight is the feedback from the athletes, there are many brands that sponsor athletes but they do not consult them. We ask them, how are you doing with the new helmet? How do you feel with it? Even though they have won races with the product and we know that it is efficient, we want it to be perfect and I believe that this obsession is scarce in other brands and it is a good difference that allows us to give the consumer the perfect product.
What do you think has been the key product in the history of EKOÏ?
We work with helmets, goggles, clothing, shoes… and frankly they are all important to us and maybe that's why I don't think there is a key product, we like to improve the quality of all products and we don't want to focus on helmets, or on glasses, for example, we are a brand that works with many product categories.
Regarding your commitment to triathlon, what importance do you give to this discipline at EKOÏ?
For us it is very important since our innovation, as Christophe told you, comes from the data that professional athletes give us and triathletes are much more advanced in technology compared to cyclists. I dare say there are only three teams focused on innovation in road cycling: Jumbo Visma, Ineos and Quick Step with Specialized. In triathlon, on the contrary, there are many champions and many athletes focused on innovation and, for example, when we created our helmet, the first athletes interested in taking advantage of the advantages and testing the new model were the triathletes. Quite frankly all of our innovation starts in triathlon.
And speaking of sponsorships, which triathletes are currently under the EKOÏ brand?
We have several Germans: Patrick Lange, Anne Haug and we also have Frederick Funk, there is an Australian, Carrie Lester, Americans like Tyler, also Rudy Von Berg, the Belgian short distance Jelle Geens, several Frenchmen too... the best triathletes they use EKOÏ. We take athletes to the top, we like to grow with them, with Frederick Van Lierde we have a strong relationship that has lasted almost 4 years and with Patrick we have had it for two years now. We like it to be a long-term support, we are more focused on it being a relationship of trust. We don't sponsor athletes when they're already up, we take them up.
Going back to the product, how long did it take you to develop the new Veloce helmet?
At least one year, the first step is to draw the product, then we evaluate its aerodynamics on the computer, we make a model and we are talking about 2 to 3 months. We tested the model in the wind tunnel with professional athletes and we already make a mold, another 2 months, which means that we can already make the first samples. The first samples are tested, their comfort, adaptation to athletes and if everything is correct we start production, another 3 months. It is very fast but we need a minimum of one year. There is a lot of field testing.
And compared to the previous helmet?
The difference in our athletes, for Frederick, Anne Hogue and Patrick is 5 to 6 watts less, at that level in medium and long distance it is a very good difference, a great advantage.
How much has EKOÏ grown?
30% in the last year, for a company like ours it is normal, we continue to progress and we have a lot of potential with our new agreements with distributors. Our main markets right now are Germany, Spain and Italy and we are also establishing ourselves in most European countries. We have also developed the Latin American market and the Asia-Pacific market a lot. We are becoming a global company and we are learning a lot about what each country requests and its preferences, with the cultural differences that exist between the different markets.
So Spain is still one of the key markets, right?
Yes, and it's very similar to our French market, in colours, tastes… so it's easy for us to know which products are going to work better compared to the UK for example. Our cultures are quite similar… Spanish people really like good design, beautiful and stylish things. I train a lot in Lanzarote, at Club La Santa, and every time I come to Spain I feel that it is a Latin country that likes what EKOÏ does, the contrasts, the colors, etc. We are also doing well because we have Beatriz Belda who controls the European market and is Spanish, and when we work with people who know each country it is much easier to sell the product in that country, because basically a small part of our company is Spain.
Have you considered making bicycles?
No, still a lot to do in gear. When you arrive on the market you have to contribute something new and right now the truth is that I don't know what we could contribute as a novelty to the world of cycling. Maybe you have seen some spectacular De Rosa bikes on the web, it was for the 20th anniversary of EKOÏ, something special that we wanted to do at that time, but it was not a strategy to enter the bike market.
Fabrice and I are triathletes and I can say that at EKOÏ we are very strong in helmets, goggles and shoes, which now comes out with a new model, by the way. We cannot yet develop triathlon clothing, although we are working on it to close the circle of complete triathlete equipment. I will also let you know that we have an innovative footwear project that we are working on that will be released at the end of the year, with pedal and shoe integration, which will be patented. Pedals have not evolved for a long time and we now propose something different that is lighter, more aerodynamic, more efficient and you can even walk with the shoes that integrate with them. It is something new and that is why we have decided to enter this pedal market, because we bring innovation.
The pedal is ready and now we continue working on the sole of the shoe, it is taking time but we are going to launch a very interesting product on the market. We have an estimated launch date that, depending on how the tests go with our athletes, can be brought forward or delayed, until it is completely to our liking, we will not sell it.
One of the things I have learned at EKOÏ is that Jean Cristophe* wants to innovate and if it does not imply added value or innovation, there is no place for that product in the brand. The markets are full, if you don't innovate you don't make room for yourself.
(*Jean-Christophe Rattel is the founder and president of EKOÏ)
And in the cycling and triathlon eyewear market, is it going to continue to innovate? If so, where will these innovations come from?
There is still room for innovation, yes, we have just put on sale some photochromic electronic glasses in which the color of the screen changes in less than a second and provides very comfortable vision. It is a project with three years of development and in the first products it happened to us that it went from very light to very dark, we could not find the balance but we have finally found a manufacturer in Switzerland that achieves the level of darkening that we need on the bicycle, with instant changes in less than a second, which protects perfectly in a lot of sun and allows you to see the details even when there is no sun. They are the E-lens and I think that in the not too distant future all lenses will be like this, they are fantastic, you never have to change lenses. It is an ideal concept for sport but it is also for day to day.
The second innovation is the connected glasses, which show you the information from your cycling computer on its screen and we hope to have the first models available from the first half of 2022, for now they integrate with Garmin devices. You will see your speed, power, distance, time... the same thing you can see on your Garmin, choosing the data you prefer and we are making these glasses really light as well.
The third innovation that we will also have ready for the first of the year are glasses with which to listen to music without headphones, with bone transmission as used in some swimming music players. Road professionals asked us for this product so they could listen to music on their long rides and answer calls, while still hearing oncoming cars and training partners.
And to finish, are there also new technologies applied to helmets?
We are focused on improving the safety of helmets, so we are applying the MIPS concept to our helmets for next season and we are also working with a company from Monaco, Koroyd, who is going to supply us with a special material so that the helmet improve your level of protection, a demand made of us by professional cyclists and triathletes who move at very high speeds, often 60 or even 70 km/h in some areas. For the next Tour de France, in July, we will have cyclists wearing helmets with that special material already, it protects much more than the EPS that is currently being used. We improve safety while maintaining lightness and it will also be a helmet with a beautiful design.
We will also have an agreement with a German company Tozen ¿? That will allow us to integrate a tiny piece into the helmet with which in the event of an impact the system will automatically contact the people you have assigned.
Thank you for your time, it has been a very interesting conversation and thanks to it we have been able to get to know EKOÏ much better and know why it has been so successful in our country. It is good news to see how Europe continues to innovate with that energy that you put into sport and that passion. !! Congratulations!!
