Inventing Something New: The Adirondack Bench
A request to sustainably mass-produce an existing product turned into an expression of industrial creativity. With full confidence from our major retail partner, we developed a novel bench version of the beloved Adirondack chair, then piloted the merchandising and marketing processes to ensure the never-before-seen design was a success.
Sturdy, stackable, and simple to transport and display, our bench has already earned high praise from our partner and their customers.
The Problem
The Adirondack Bench Before Kreate
To put it plainly, there was no Adirondack bench before Kreate. Our partnership with a large retailer started with the production of a tried-and-true Adirondack chair, but a sturdy, no-assembly-required bench version wasn’t part of the equation. Our always-innovating product developers, however, saw a chance to translate a time-honored design into a two-person variant.
The Solution
The Adirondack Bench After Kreate
Using the iconic Adirondack chair for inspiration, we crafted a modern outdoor loveseat from the ground up. As with all new-to-market products, we had to guarantee our Adirondack bench would exceed expectations, so we designed it to be stable, lightweight, universally comfortable, and more cost-efficient to distribute. Ultimately, our attention to detail paid off: by creating an entirely new product category, we carved out a lucrative niche for our retail partner.
The Process
How We Kreate
Product Feasibility
It Starts With Research
We knew there was no such thing as an Adirondack bench on the market, but we quickly discovered why—making something that wide into a sturdy yet lightweight one-piece product is no easy feat. But the demand was there, so we took on the challenge of researching comparable products and customer pain points. Before moving to the development phase, we also underwent meticulous intellectual property research to ensure our invention was entirely original.
Design & Engineering
The Vision Takes Shape
From there, we were ready to disrupt the market. After drafting up an all-new elongation, we leaned into heavy-weight construction for stability and cored-out legs for easy stackability and therefore transportation. By the end, we had landed on a pre-assembled one-piece product that could compete with existing high-end benches and loveseats while commanding a category of its own.
Prototyping & Testing
Iterating Ideas
Our team then took a meticulous approach to satisfying the load limit requirements through finite element analysis (FEA), a computer-driven technique that models how products and materials will behave. With a wider, previously unproven, design, we took every step to ensure our all-new version would exceed industry standards—and proved it through several rounds of experimentation and successive iterations. Now totally confident in the bench’s safety and stability, it was clear we had a winning design on our hands.
Tooling & Manufacturing
Bringing the Design to Life
With buy-in from the client, we set out to procure the materials and secure the high-end tooling needed for the project. Thanks to our added reinforcements and thorough testing protocols, the first batch of products passed all stress tests with flying colors. We then had a safe, sturdy, cost-effective Adirondack bench ready for reliable and sustainable mass production.
Logistics Optimization
Handling Packing and Shipping
From the beginning, we thought about how best to distribute our brand-new bench to our retail partners. The cored-out leg design allowed each bench to nest together and stack, helping to drastically reduce the cost of shipping for all parties by maximizing the number of products per pallet. We also added a simple movable tray to cover the opening after transportation. Our thorough optimization study led to an increase in products per container, and an increasingly satisfied partner.
Marketing & Management
Driving Product Sales
Our commitment to a market-disrupting bench didn’t stop at manufacturing. From the initial branding and product photography to an in-depth sell-through analysis, we pulled out all the stops to ensure this never-before-seen bench was a success in stores. Along the way, we created an incentive program to collect reviews and fuel social proof, drawing in more online shoppers.
The Outcome
The Project’s Impact
In no time, we evolved a run-of-the-mill Adirondack chair into a comfortable, no-assembly-necessary bench variation that was efficient and cost-effective to ship and display. By conceiving a trailblazing bench that fits into a larger ecosystem of Adirondack-style products, we opened up an entirely new revenue stream for our partner. And the outcome has been nothing short of outstanding.
By the Numbers:
600
The number of retail locations that immediately stocked our bench
4.9
The average customer rating for the new bench design
120
The number of years it took someone to create a no-assembly Adirondack bench
But What About “Brand”?
Well, what about it? While some might argue that brand recognition reigns supreme (and therefore, puts us at a disadvantage when infiltrating an existing category), our market research tells a different story: consumers care about the product, not the people behind it. They’re looking for 5-star reviews, better features, a more affordable price point, and improved value. That’s something “brand” can never replace, and it’s exactly what we bring to the table.
Our Bench is Part of Something Bigger
Our concept for a brand-new bench didn’t appear out of thin air; it grew organically from our experience modernizing the Adirondack chair for our retail partner. The process of deconstructing and revamping this century-old chair was integral to the creation of our all-new bench version. Now, the chair and bench pair perfectly together to create an ecosystem of products, and a cohesive set-up for any customer’s backyard or front porch.