Brand new thermally and acoustically insulated tents.
Business overview
| Location | Tralee, Ireland |
|---|---|
| Social media | |
| Website | www.thermotents.com/ |
| Sectors | Travel, Leisure & Sport Non-Digital B2C |
| Company number | 553249 |
| Incorporation date | 26 Nov 2014 |
Investment summary
Idea
Introduction
Our CEO was truly fed up with being uncomfortable in his conventional tents - so he did something about it by setting up Thermo Tents Ltd.
At Thermo Tents we have essentially begun a 'Tent Revolution' by designing and developing what we understand to be the world's very first thermally and acoustically insulated tent or tenting system. Our (patent-pending) multi-layer design and brand new insulation technology have applications in:
- Recreational Tents
- Glamping Tents (Luxury Camping)
- Disaster Relief Tents
- Base Tents
The advantages Thermo Tent has over every other tent in a massive market is that our tent is designed specifically to keep you cooler when it is hot outside, warmer when it is cold outside and to muffle noise transfer in and out of the tent.
Intended impact
Lots of people like to camp but dislike the lack of comfort associated with tents. Typically, once temperatures drop conventional tents follow suit and become very cold. The opposite is also true. In warm climates, once the sun rises, traditional tent design means that tents become unbearably hot. And when camping in a busy campsite or noisy area, one can find it hard to sleep due to the noise factor.
Our products are also an effective solution for festival camping, where its thermal and acoustic benefits have obvious advantages. We are currently co-developing a product with a supplier that already has a distribution chain into this market.
Natural and man-made disasters happen all over the world, often in extreme climates. Traditional tents are just not a good enough solution for anyone that has to reside like this, over a long period of time. The UN tells us that “…there are over 7 million refugees in protracted refugee situations” & “The average length of stay in these states of virtual limbo is now approaching 20 years.” Thermo Tent offers a vast increase in comfort levels to these unfortunate people. We are delighted to announce the Thermo Tents Ltd has recently been listed as an official UN tent supplier.
The Glamping industry is going through a massive growth phase in Europe and the USA. We have developed a Glamping tent that offers the user an un-paralleled level of comfort. Campsite owners also like the fact that the features of our tents will allow them to lengthen their season substantially, decreasing the payback period.
Many hunting/fishing/hiking/climbing groups adopt base camps for their activities and many of these activities take place during winter months due to regulation, seasonality and required conditions. Again Thermo Tent makes these experiences much more comfortable for the users, a demographic that are typically comfortable with spending extra on high quality products.
Substantial accomplishments to date
Already we have:
- Designed and developed 4 finished products, after going through many prototypes and a lot of testing
- Protected our Intellectual Property with a patent (pending) application
- Developed an ecommerce website that is up and running, through which we have already made sales
- Completed a successful market validation Crowdfunding campaign through Kickstarter (€51K off a €40K goal) https://goo.gl/guqXyn
- Built a small but dynamic team of professionals
- Opened communications into significant sales channels into Europe and the USA
Note: We were absolutely thrilled to learn recently that we have officially been appointed as a nominated tent supplier to the United Nations. This is a huge boost and a huge vote of confidence in Thermo Tents Ltd by a massive organisation.
Where Thermo Tents has been featured
Read more about Thermo Tents in the Daily Mail: http://goo.gl/x6tuI2
Monetisation strategy
As we are a Consumer Product based company, our profits will come from sales or Thermo Tent Ltd products across Europe, North America and beyond. Our products are currently manufactured by third parties. The recreational tents are manufactured by a very reputable partner in China. Our Glamping tent and Refugee tent are manufactured part in The Netherlands and part in eastern Europe. All of our partners have been vetted and recommended. By year three we want to control the assembly process of the various parts, enabling us to also provide customised tents online - something that is not available today.
When we sell directly to the end user or campsite, we aim to sell at a 50% + Gross Margin. If we sell to a retailer or reseller we expect this will drop to 30%+, however this will be for guaranteed volumes.
We have also set up as a Seller on Amazon and intend to set up as a Vendor in August.
As sales volumes increase, we anticipate that margins could increase by 10%, once we streamline the process, but it is important that quality is the main objective through the short-term.
Use of proceeds
We have very specific requirements for these funds, which are broken down into milestones:
Commercial Milestones
1. Building brand awareness by going to identified outdoor exhibitions in Europe and The USA - We want people to be able to touch and feel the quality of Thermo Tent so these exhibitions give us the opportunity to do this.
Events we plan to attend include:
• Friedrichshafen, July - http://www.outdoor-show.com/
• Stoneleigh, September - http://theglampingshow.com/
• Salt Lake City, January - http://www.outdoorretailer.com/
2. Increase the sales team & hence increase sales, focusing on the UK, Europe and the USA
3. Increase Marketing and PR - in a targeted fashion
4. Working capital & purchase of product (long sales cycle)
Technical Milestones
1. Research and Development - Critical to stay ahead of any competitors in this space
2. Continued IP protection
3. Search Engine Optimisation, Social Media Optimisation & Customer Relationship Management
Market
Target market
Initially we will focus on 4 specific Markets:
1. Recreational Camping tents (Larger - family size) - in the US alone there was an annual spend of $646 billion on outdoor recreation (Outdoor Industry Association). Early indications are that this market will respond very positively to our products. The festival camping segment can also be included here, and we are co-developing a product with an established supplier into this market. We believe that festival organisers would be very receptive to a more comfortable solution than standard pop-up tents for specific events in Europe and the USA which appeal to seasoned festival-goers.
2. Glamping (Luxury Camping) Tents in Europe and the USA - There is massive potential here as our Safari Style product offers an unparalleled level of comfort while offering the Glamping site an opportunity to extend their season as well as decreasing their heating and air-conditioning bills.
3. Disaster Relief - tens of millions of refugees requiring tents or shelters. We are now a listed tent supplier to the UN.
4. Base Tents - for applications in hiking/climbing/fishing/hunting.
Characteristics of target market
The target markets listed above have one thing in common of late - the search for comfort. Tents traditionally aren't known for their comfort levels but this is changing. The recreational market is currently described as 'coming back down the mountain', so our timing is perfect. This means that Consumers and Retailers are getting more interested in camping at campsites than in hiking, and sellers are responding. When we put all of the above together we have access to a huge market at what we believe is the right time.
The consumers in the middle and higher end of the tent markets outlined above have become much more educated on various products and they want access to better solutions. We have developed a fantastic product for which we have already achieved sales and customer validation, so it is time to scale immediately to meet added demand.
Geographically, our market research has highlighted a number of areas in Europe and The USA that we must focus on first. These areas combine the correct demographic (with the requisite income) with suitable climates.
Marketing strategy
We will have 5 primary routes to market which we must consider:
1. Directly Online through our ecommerce website www.thermotents.com - this is the preferred option as we can control margin and the reaction times etc. We can market to this audience through SEO, SMO and targeted advertising. (B2C)
2. Through resellers and retailers, carefully selected as we must be careful with how our brand is portrayed. Not every outdoor shop is suitable, so we have hand-picked some that we are focusing on at the moment. This will primarily be done face to face with the relevant people. (B2C)
3. Through Amazon.com - we have recently become a seller in this huge platform and we are in the process of becoming a vendor to Amazon. This is a huge opportunity to expand our customer base rapidly. Amazon have multiple options for marketing on the platform. (B2B & B2C)
4. Through exhibitions and tradeshows - this is a very good opportunity to interact with both resellers and end customers, allowing us to show off the quality of Thermo Tent. These shows are available for the Recreational Tent sector as well as the Glamping market. Again this will involve face to face meetings. (B2B & B2C)
5. Direct engagement and correspondence with campsites, glamping sites, disaster relief organisations etc. - we have bodies on the ground interacting directly with these customers. (B2B)
Competition strategy
We have a strong Unique Selling Point in that we are the only thermally and acoustically insulated tent that we know of in the marketplace. However this will not be enough. Our design must also remain at the forefront aesthetically and functionally, as we have heard from interacting with the market.
We have ensured that our specification is very high and we continue to consult with end users and resellers to make sure that our product appeals visually and functionally. This is crucial. Once we maintain this, our patent-pending protected design will ensure that we have a strong USP which we believe will give us a huge advantage over our major competitors in this market sector.
All of our design is done in-house by designers that are always observing current trends and wants from our sectors, so that we can react immediately, while also setting our own trends.
Our market research has also told us that customers in this space are open to new ideas and new products which is good news for us. Now is the time to maximise this opportunity through controlled and intelligent expansion. The Outdoor Market is growing rapidly and consumers are seeking out high quality solutions that make the outdoors more comfortable and more accessible. That is where we come in.
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