Henrik Midtgård Hansen (right) and Dan Christensen (left) created ByLogstrup in 2020 to make the ‘dream outdoor kitchen’ more accessible to everyone. What started as a hobby had, in a short period of time, overtaken established rivals on the revenue highway. They are also eyeing a borderless, global market with augmented reality driven ‘virtual trial demos’. ByLogstrup being a happy Enhance patron, we wanted to capture the team’s sizzling growth curve while also understanding their specific journey with 3D and AR. Dynamic and visionary co-founder Henrik responded generously with the perfect tete-a-tete. Here’s the extract.
Genesis
Sometime back, my wife and I were considering a cabinet on the terrace for storage. We wanted something classic. I work in a company called Logstrup Steel that makes large cabinets for all kinds of industries.
I went over to one of our designers and told him that I wanted one small and low. I would fit the countertop myself. I did not know at the time that I was giving life to a quote unquote outdoor kitchen, but that’s exactly what I was doing!
During a reunion, my wife – a stylist at Le Creuset with an extensive network in Denmark’s media and design sector – sold two units effortlessly to an admiring group of girlfriends! That’s the first time I (CIO) and my CFO at Logstrup realized we could be sitting on something big. Maybe we should just convert this hobby into a small company?
We did some market research and realized well known players in the space (Outstanding, Cane-Line, Tour Design) were selling about 25 pieces a year. We set up a website and kept the pricing low, targeting 15 a year. Guess how many we sold the very next year (2021)? 104! Needless to say, we were blown away.
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Going-to-market
We started with Google and Instagram. We have a 50:50 customer mix between people who ‘need’ it and those who are ‘inspired’ to buy after seeing it. Our goal was to make the second 50% go, “Hey, we can have this on our terrace!” My entire family is involved in marketing and promotions – my wife makes the Insta page look chic, while my daughter keeps an eye on digital marketing.
We are on Facebook and TikTok too, although Facebook hasn’t turned out to be great when it comes to selling luxury. We tried a campaign where we gave away free pizza ovens with an outdoor kitchen of any size, but got little response on Facebook. Insta, on the other hand, showed terrific traction. As for TikTok, we’ll probably use it for product placement and buzz, if not sales. Meta platforms and Google is where we are still going strong!
At the moment, we are 600% over the sales from last year in January.
Evolution and B2B
A magazine in Denmark (BoligMagazine) loved our stuff and invited us to participate in a contest. We came out number two, and received a lot of exposure. In 2022, we sold nearly twice as much. That said, we had also invested quite heavily to market on Instagram, Google and magazines. In 2023, the primary focus is on B2B.
For B2B, we are not using eCommerce or sales teams. We are marketing in magazines for architects, décor, gardens, etc. We tell companies, “Next time you are building a terrace, we are here. Don’t take our word for it. Test it on Augmented Reality first!”
And it works! Did you know that Holmris – the biggest company in Scandinavia and Nordics and maybe Europe too – has started to buy from us?
At the moment, we are 600% over the sales from last year in January. What’s even better, we are hitting a varied market. A tennis club with a terrace, a building project in Copenhagen, a sports academy in Denmark – they all want it!
Logistics
Ours is a heavy, relatively large and unwieldy product – not one you can just walk into a store and tuck into your shopping bag. Several of our competitors – including IKEA – sell parts that are assembled on-site. Not us.
Our outdoor kitchen comes readymade in fixed sizes. Only the colour changes, and you can also add a sink and grill. The only thing we do when the order comes in is build it, put it on a pallet, wrap and send off. When the customer gets it, it's ready for use. Sounds over simplified perhaps, but it’s not complicated either.
Stepping into ‘see-commerce’
My smallest son who’s into 3D and plays with VR glasses said, “Maybe you can do it”. I know it's possible. I knew IKEA bets big on this. But what I hadn’t realized – and came to know from our partner agency in Denmark called Khora – is that it’s less costly that I initially thought. We sped from 0 to 100% real quick. Now, everybody thinks it's really good.
We want to hit markets outside Denmark this year and are focusing a lot on Germany. We know AR is the place to start. You see, people living far away can’t touch, feel or use our products. It’s also not feasible to ship a large item like an outdoor kitchen and risk a return. This makes 3D and AR the only way for our global customers to ‘try it out’.
Brand building
We are a small startup. It was a hobby business. But with 3D and AR, people think we are a ‘real, high-tech company’. That’s quite a lift in perception.
Engagement enhancement
There’s a function that lets users move things around. For me, even if it is not directly useful, it makes the product more alive and engaging. I remember, while playing the video game Counter-Strike, I always used to think, “Okay, can I ruin this wall? Can I shoot the table? Can I shoot the chicken?” It may have nothing to do with the game, but it's fun, and just makes the whole experience more alive.
A ByLogstrup outdoor kitchen. Click on ´See in your space´ to view in augmented reality or visit the product page.
Ease of use
When I have a meeting, I place the AR with the grill, and they just go “wow”. You see, many of them have heard about AR tech and know IKEA had something in AR. But they think it’s complicated and needs special VR glasses and stuff. And I always go, No – you don’t! In fact, that’s another plus about the Enhance solution – it’s web-based, so just use the phone.
Seamless integration
In terms of integrating 3D and AR into our technical frameworks and culture, it turned out to be easier than I thought. For one thing, the architect can simply drop a file into their larger project and see where it fits within the scope of a BIM design.
Secondly, our web shop is not ready to bake-in links with every product. The challenge was compounded this year because we have different products – round designs plus two new colours.
That's why I was really grateful that you implemented new features to easily replace assets in my existing 3D and AR campaigns without making changes to my web. Everything was very quick and easy. I’d say it took about one day of work to set everything up. Thirdly, your support is fast.
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Market expansion via online trials
It's still too early to put a figure to any increase in sales from 3D and AR but one thing is 100% sure: It will help us expand our footprint geographically. For example, we didn't promote anything in Germany. But this year, we have five German customers who all tried the AR solution to choose the colour.
We want to hit markets outside Denmark this year and are focusing a lot on Germany. We know AR is the place to start. You see, people living far away can’t touch, feel or use our products. It’s also not feasible to ship a large item like an outdoor kitchen and risk a return. This makes 3D and AR the only way for our global customers to ‘try it out’.
Parting thoughts
Frankly, I'm amazed that none of our competitors have used this technology. I may be a tech-happy guy, but even ‘old people’ I spoke to love the augmented reality experience. It is one thing is to browse and scroll pictures on the net. But to be able to move it, change it and try it out virtually – that’s a real game changer!
