Entrepreneurship Zone: 10 March 2023 :: From South Africa to Harrods: The story of cooler box brand Fieldbar

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Entrepreneurship Zone: 10 March 2023 ::  From South Africa to Harrods: The
story of cooler box brand Fieldbar

 

	
 


*          


 “London called, we answered. Fieldbar now available in a little store you
might have heard of. Harrods.” This Instagram post by South African cooler
box maker Fieldbar in July of last year announced the company’s expansion to
the renowned British department store.


Founded in 2018, Fieldbar has reinvented the traditional cooler box,
leading to an investment from Invenfin, the venture capital arm of South
African group Remgro. Jaco Maritz interviewed founder and CEO Lee Hartman to
learn about the company’s early days, manufacturing challenges, and its
branding and design strategy.

South African serial entrepreneur Lee Hartman first got the idea for
Fieldbar about 20 years ago while attending a gathering on Cape Town’s
Clifton beach. At the event, he observed the subpar quality of the cooler
boxes in use – they lacked adequate compartments to organise items and were
aesthetically unappealing. “I just looked at them and thought, ‘These
manufacturers aren’t even trying anymore.’ I thought it was such a pity
because it’s a really sociable product. When we did our research for
Fieldbar, somebody said, ‘You’re never in a bad mood when you pack a cooler
box.’ It has this kind of built in emotion that nobody has thought of
building a brand around.”

Hartman started his career as a chartered accountant before transitioning
to banking, working in London and later joining Investec in South Africa. He
entered the start-up world when he became CFO of  South African online bank
20twenty in 2004. After leaving banking, Hartman founded Strika
Entertainment, a media business that Naspers eventually acquired. He then
delved into software development, creating mobile apps, before selling that
company to Telkom.

A few years ago Hartman read a book on luxury brand strategy and became
interested in exploring the luxury stories from South Africa. While diamonds
and precious gems were obvious choices, he also recognised the significance
of the country’s safari heritage. South Africa was a pioneer in luxury
safari experiences, which Hartman believed could be a good positioning
strategy for Fieldbar internationally. “If you ask the question, ‘Why would
someone care about a cooler box that’s made in Cape Town?’, the answer would
be, ‘Because these guys come from a safari heritage where they understand
going into remote places where it is hot and dusty, but still having a
well-designed and well-thought-out experience’.”

He was further encouraged by advancements in e-commerce, such as the
emergence of third-party warehousing integrated with platforms such as
Shopify, which allows customers to order products online and have them
fulfilled by a remote warehouse without the need for physical involvement
from the company. With these developments and having just sold his software
business, Hartman felt it was the opportune moment to launch Fieldbar.


Designing a high-end cooler box


To bring Fieldbar to life, Hartman embarked on a search for an industrial
designer and discovered Corban Warrington through Google. Together, they met
weekly at Hartman’s house to brainstorm ideas. Eventually they ran a survey
on Facebook where respondents could select their favourite design. “Around
800 people participated in the survey and many were asking, ‘Where can we
get it?’ Once we received that feedback, we knew we had to move forward with
production.”


Overcoming manufacturing challenges


Next, Hartman had to find companies capable of producing the equipment
necessary to manufacture Fieldbar cooler boxes. These boxes are made by
injecting plastic into large steel moulds under high pressure. However, due
to their particularly complex design – with straight sides and precise parts
– finding companies able to produce the equipment was difficult. In
comparison, cheaper cooler boxes are easier to produce and more forgiving of
manufacturing imperfections.

Hartman reached out to several equipment manufacturers in China, but most
were unable to produce the required equipment. It ultimately took the
company about two years to obtain the first samples and then transport the
custom-made steel moulds to South Africa.



Hartman says the majority of Fieldbar customers use the product in an urban
environment.

 

However, when the equipment arrived in South Africa, the company
encountered difficulties in replicating the cooler boxes exactly as they
were made in China. The locally available plastic material was different,
posing a challenge to Fieldbar’s manufacturing process. This setback caused
pressure as many customers had already paid deposits for the cooler boxes,
but the company was unable to produce them as promised. “That was a very
stressful situation,” remembers Hartman, “but fortunately, we were able to
overcome those problems.”

Hartman acknowledges the risk involved in investing millions in custom-made
machinery before knowing the exact demand for the product, but he emphasises
that the initial customer survey instilled a great deal of confidence in the
company. Additionally, he asserts that the substantial upfront capital
outlay acts as a competitive advantage for the business, creating a barrier
to entry.


Design and branding considerations


Fieldbar’s cooler boxes are made from 58 parts that can be removed,
repaired or replaced. The company claims that when packed full of ice and
left in the shade, the ice can last for 50 hours. The cooler’s unique shape,
airtight lid, foam insulation, reflective paint, and raised floor all
contribute to its cooling capability.

According to Hartman, the design of the cooler boxes is crucial to the
success of the product. The boxes come in six different colours and are
designed to be visually appealing, which often leads to word-of-mouth
marketing. “If you take a Fieldbar to a beach, very often somebody will come
to you and ask where you got it. People buy it for its looks but they also
want it to perform. It’s like an Apple product or a sports car. You buy it
on emotion and justify it on performance,” he explains.

Fieldbar owes much of its traction so far to a strong focus on branding,
encompassing everything from the name and packaging to the marketing
strategy. “We’ve put a lot of thought into the brand. There are a lot of
good products out there, but many haven’t thought out the branding
thoroughly enough. The brand is almost as important as the product itself.
We understand precisely the emotions that our product should evoke, and this
informs all our decisions.”


Retail expansion


Hartman credits Instagram for much of Fieldbar’s retail expansion. By
leveraging the platform to showcase its products, the company generated
significant interest among retail buyers. Consequently, Fieldbar managed to
forge retail partnerships without any active solicitation, one of which was
with YuppieChef, a prominent South African kitchen and homeware retailer. In
addition, Fieldbar’s products have been available at Harrods in the UK since
last year, following a chance encounter with buyers from the department
store at the Maison&Objet trade show in Paris.

Currently, the distribution of Fieldbar’s products are roughly split 50-50
between online and brick-and-mortar retail channels. While the product was
inspired by South Africa’s safari heritage, Hartman says the cooler boxes
are mainly used in an urban setting. “We call ourselves an urban-outdoor
company.”

Sales are currently dominated by South Africa, accounting for around 90%,
but the company has its sights set on global expansion. This year, it aims
to enter several new international markets, including the Netherlands and
the US. However, Hartman emphasises the need to balance factory expansion
with sales growth. “If you spend too much on expanding manufacturing
capacity and then the demand is not there, it could be disastrous for the
business,” he says.

Although shipping bulky products globally can be expensive, Hartman affirms
that he has no plans to relocate Fieldbar’s manufacturing away from South
Africa, as it is integral to the brand’s identity. He notes that South
Africa benefits from favourable trade agreements with the US and EU, which
enable the company to export duty-free. Hartman cites Le Creuset, the French
cookware company, as a similar example of prioritising manufacturing
location over cost savings. Despite the availability of cheaper
manufacturing options in China, Le Creuset still produces all of its cast
iron pots in France.



Fieldbar cooler boxes are manufactured in Cape Town, South Africa.

 

- Howwemadeitinafrica

 

 


 


 


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