Part 2 - How to Expand Into New Categories
Inside the Ecco Tannery, just outside of Amsterdam
You don't necessarily need to build an entirely new team to launch a new product category. But you do need the expertise.
We’ve been thinking a lot about category expansion lately, especially after The Business of Fashion article we shared recently.
For an established brand, moving into a new category can create a funny problem.
You already have a brand.
You know your customer.
You have a point of view.
You may even know exactly what product you want to make.
But luggage isn't apparel. A wallet isn't footwear. And a travel bag isn't simply a different-shaped book tote.
Every category comes with its own construction methods, materials, components, factories, testing requirements, price architecture, and frankly, its own weird little language.
So what do you do when the opportunity makes sense for your brand, but the expertise doesn't exist internally?
Building an entirely new team isn't always the answer.
We’ve worked on both sides of this, in-house at brands and now as outside partners, and the most successful setups start by figuring out where the knowledge gaps actually are.
Maybe your internal team should absolutely own the brand strategy, customer, merchandising and creative direction.
But you bring in category expertise to help answer things like:
What construction makes sense for this product?
What's achievable at the target price?
Which features actually matter?
What kind of factory should make it?
What needs to be tested?
What's a gimmicky detail vs an additive one?
And how do we make this feel unmistakably like your brand, rather than a generic product with your logo added?
The goal shouldn't be to replace the internal team.
It's to extend what that team already knows really well into a category they haven't built before.
And ideally, leave some of that knowledge behind when the project is done.
That's increasingly our favorite way of working.
Need help developing a luggage, bag, or travel accessory?
Form Space helps brands expand into new product categories through end-to-end product design and development.
