Hitting European waters: Honu celebrates UK expansion with major demo event at Dorset test centre

Honu Boards, the dynamic challenger SUP brand from Australia, is on a mission to set new industry benchmarks. As part of their global expansion, they are now establishing a strong presence in Europe with new warehouses in Warwickshire (UK) and Boxtel (Netherlands).

Hi Mark, welcome back to TotalSUP and congratulations on your recent European expansion. Are you now constantly in transit between Australia, United Kingdom and the Netherlands?

Not constantly, but I am on the way as we speak. For me, this means I have early starts in North America and late finishes in Europe. Luckily, I have some very good people locally who take care of 95% of things.

Let’s start with the UK market I’m directly connected to. Could you tell us more about opening the new warehouse in Warwickshire and the dedicated test centre in Dorset?

We have been working with OTC Watersports for a couple of years now. They have our products to test and sell online via surfdoctor.com. We decided to become more involved in-country by landing stock in a warehouse that we could ship directly. Not only does this allow us to ramp up our marketing efforts, but it also gives our retail partners the confidence to do the same, as we can back them up with inventory quickly when needed.

The UK SUP scene is well-established (especially the competitive and racing side of it) with steady growth since the 2000s and then obviously with the recreational participation blowing up during lockdowns. What has attracted you to the UK market?

I lived in England for a little under five years in my early twenties and loved it. In fact, I nearly didn’t leave. When re-launching Honu, I connected with the guys at SUP Boarder Magazine in the UK which kind of set me on a path early of UK expansion, along with the many requests from people in the UK for us to do so.

How will you be positioning Honu among existing iSUP brands? Are there any gaps in the UK market that you have identified?

Our boards and paddles for that matter represent the best value at the performance end of the market. Maybe that’s a bold claim, but I will stand by it. Our products site among the very best in terms of quality, weight and performance. The difference between Honu and those other 4-5 brands is that we are predominately direct to consumer with a lean structure that allows for sharper pricing.

I believe we occupy a unique position in the market: Of the direct-to-customer (D2C) brands, we have the highest quality, performance & price…Of the brands we compete with on, quality and performance, we have the best prices.

You have partnered with industry leaders in the UK, Surf Doctor and OTC Water Sports – How did that partnership come about?

I was introduced to the team through the guys at SUP Boarder Magazine and we just got along. We have shared values around quality and service. I was speaking to some other big players in the SUP market at the time who were equally keen to sell and represent Honu, but I felt they focused on volume and sales leadership over quality customer experiences. This is why we partner with OTC Watersports and Surf Doctor.

Check out our interview with Mark Travers (July 2024) below:

From Bondi Beach, to the Jurassic Coast – Could you tell us more about the testing facilities?

The OTC centre is packed full of gear and instructors for folks to go and learn a range of watersports. Foiling, wing foiling, windsurfing, paddleboarding, you name it – they have it and the team are super enthusiastic about growing the sport and getting people outside and active.

Honu offers a range of boards, spanning from SUP-surfing to touring and recreational racing. Could you share a sneak peek of the most recent experiences of UK paddlers with Honu boards?

I don’t know about a sneak peak, but there are some very capable people out there with our new Bondi and folks can expect some in depth content and reviews to be coming soon. I believe it matters less what I say about our new boards, it matters more about what others think…. And to be honest, I never know what they are going to say. I’m waiting patiently to see.

Which Honu models do you anticipate will spark the biggest interest among UK paddlers?

I think our new Bondi is going to create a lot of buzz and excitement among the more experienced paddleboarders out there, simply due to its level of design specificity. But the board I think will be extremely popular is the Sorrento 11’3. We already have a long list of people waiting for them to be released.

The news has just broken about a new warehouse in Boxtel, the Netherlands – Could you tell us more about it?

Funnily enough, I’ve also lived in the Netherlands for a year… In Utrecht. Similar to the UK, we will land our full range of inventory in the Netherlands to serve all of Europe with quick and cost-effective delivery.

Similar to the UK, I expect to be partnering with a small number of customer-focused retailers who will have exclusive rights to market and sell Honu products. This process for us is very slow and in fact we are only just now about to open our first store in the USA. They will be the only one for this year at least, so there is no rush for this. We wait for the right partners, not just any retailer.

Are there any differences between setting up warehouses in the UK and the Netherlands?

Not really… They are similarly difficult 🙂

Do you have a brand ambassador scheme at HONU?

Yes, we do, and we are interested in finding some EU and UK based ambassadors. We get approached every day by “influencers” who are not what we look for. Most of our ambassadors were, in fact, customers to start with, but in leu of this we are looking for SUP surfers and  paddleboarders in France. The attributes we are looking for is people who are actively out there doing the sport and able to create a bit of content along the way.

Honu Brand Ambassador, Drew David

When can we join you for a paddle on the UK turf and test Honu boards? Are there any more events and demo days planned?

We have had to swap things around and we’re kicking off with an open day at the OTC. But it should be fun.

Normally, folks would need to book ahead and rent the equipment, but for this coming Saturday, 22 June, the OTC will be open. We will have a range of boards and paddles to try with myself and the team at OTC there to meet and chat with people.

Good luck with the demo day and we’re looking forward to testing Honu gear soon!

Honu Demo Day details:

Date: Saturday, 22 June 2024

Time: 10:00 AM onwards

What to Expect:

• Test the boards
• Engage with the expert team
• Discover exclusive one-off deals

Location: The OTC, WPNSA, Osprey Quay, Portland, Dorset, DT5 1SA

Contact:
Phone: 01305 230 530
Email: info@otc-windsurf.com

To find out more about HONU, visit honuboards.com

Follow HONU on Instagram and Facebook

*Images courtesy of Honu