Overview
Patrick Gruber
Head of Customer Experience
Company
Adventure Shop: The Manifesto of Staying Light Coded in the Backpack with Minimalism
Adventure Shop is a fast growing, D2C e-commerce brand that has become one of the European Union's largest outdoor retailers.
"For us, adventure should never be a heavy burden. Through our products, we reduce the physical excess on the backs of nature lovers, the worries in their minds, and the time they waste. Because we know the true freedom is the power to carry on safer, faster, and with full energy, using less gear."
- The Adventure Shop Founding Team
Adventure Shop is a hyper-growth, D2C e-commerce brand that has become one of the European Union's largest outdoor retailers. Founded by two partners who sought a minimalist vision amidst the chaos of their corporate careers, the company operates with a clear mission: to offer high-quality, self-tested, premium products at affordable prices for outdoor enthusiasts.
Through its signature offerings, Adventure Shop aims to make adventure accessible, safe, and effortless for everyone who simply wants to explore the opportunities nature provides.
Adventure Light is a budget-friendly and multi-functional solution that ensures pedestrian safety in the dark.
The Thermofit Glove and Glowguard address the comfort and safety concerns of dog owners and athletes in cold and dark weather, keeping hands warm while increasing the visibility of pets.
Isomattes (sleeping mats), which are compact enough to fit into a jacket pocket and quick to inflate, meet the comfort and practicality needs of families, pet owners, and ultralight hikers.
"For us, adventure should never be a heavy burden. Through our products, we reduce the physical excess on the backs of nature lovers, the worries in their minds, and the time they waste. Because we know the true freedom is the power to carry on safer, faster, and with full energy, using less gear."
- The Adventure Shop Founding Team
Every adventure traditionally begins with an "I wish." This time, however, the story of two stubborn spirits began with the question, "Why not?" It was 2021. The world had encountered a halt with the pandemic era, yet a new stir was in everyone's heart: a return to nature. That was the moment Lukas and Sebastian stepped onto the scene. Leaving the gray walls of corporate life behind, these two "chaotic" friends merged a storage room with a living room, and a single idea blossomed: Adventure Shop.
They asked themselves: "Starting our own thing can't be that hard... right?" While this might sound like a naive question, it is often the start of every great revolution. What they saw was a gap: Quality outdoor gear was either too expensive or unnecessarily heavy! They didn't just want to sell a product. They wanted to make that postponed weekend camp, that evening hike, or that ski trip possible for you!
Their first office? It was a chaotic mix of a storage room and a living room. But the vision inside was brighter than any luxury office. This was entrepreneurship in its purest form: finding order within the chaos, and accessibility within the high cost!
“Corporate life felt like a costume we had finally taken off. Standing there, amidst the boxes in our makeshift 'headquarters', half storage room, half living room, we looked at each other and thought, 'Starting our own thing can’t be that hard... right?' That was the moment 'I wish' turned into the certainty of 'Why Not?' (Lukas & Sebastian)
They knew that an adventurous spirit needs trustworthy gear, especially without being condemned to pocket-burning prices. They had no proper office. Initial orders were packed on top of a desk, maybe even a cardboard box. But the excitement of those first orders, the "ding" sound of every new email...that was the adventure itself. In 2022, the company achieved significant success with its first major launch: the Adventure Light. When their first big hit arrived so fast, Lukas and Sebastian turned to each other and said, "Okay, this is bigger than we thought!" They moved into their first official office and grew into a team of seven. Yes, seven people, a constantly running coffee machine, and an attempt to bring order to the chaos... But success is not just in the numbers. Success is the community that trusts you!
In 2024, another star was born: the Isomatte (sleeping mat). And BUM! Another viral hit. This was proof of the founders' vision: the perfect balance between comfort and practicality. It was "as easy to carry as a towel, as simple as unrolling it." Adventure Shop quickly earned the approval of real adventurers and social media stars like Pamela Bartczak, Luisa von Podewils, Nina Maurr, Carina Aquarell. This was a value that money simply cannot buy. Why? Because Adventure Shop didn't just give them a lantern; it offered them the freedom to move without worrying about time and energy!
An adventure often carries one to a summit where the view is breathtaking. But on that very summit, a new kind of fatigue begins. Just as it did for Adventure Shop... When Lukas and Sebastian set out, they had a single promise: to Lighten Your Burden. This promise was written into their DNA: "The biggest adventure is not the heaviest burden!" They created pocket sized comfort and the quickly inflatable Isomatte to remove the physical load from your adventure.
And business exploded! Those crazy days of receiving 1,500 orders daily were every entrepreneur's dream. Pamelas, Ninas, and all adventurers trusted the brand! But in that moment, success brought along its biggest obstacle: the Invisible Weight.
The burden on their shoulders was no longer just cardboard boxes or products being shipped. Even though they were using Zendesk to manage the conversiton with customers, the operational loads were not being lightened. Every new order meant hundreds of new support tickets: cancellations, returns, order status inquiries...
Their inboxes were overflowing like ocean waves. Our customers were receiving fantastic products, but when they had an issue, they had to wait for up to 12 hours for a reply. In their chaotic office where even the meeting room had turned into a storage area!, Lukas and Sebastian realized one thing: Simply expanding the office wasn't enough.
Customer service also needed to breathe. The weight on their shoulders was now the emotional toll of unanswered emails, not physical packages. They were now at a critical crossroads: They could either continuously hire new staff, which would destroy their profit margins... or they could find a smarter, more visionary, and minimal solution that aligned with their ultralight hiking philosophy. They remembered their founding value: We are the brand that lightens loads! Therefore, we must apply this value to our own business processes!
"Our orders went through the roof; yes, we moved to a bigger office... But we weren't just stacking desks, we were stacking problems. Our minimalism philosophy was built on 'doing more with less,' but manually handling 1,500 orders was a betrayal of that philosophy. We realized that for sustainable growth, instead of burning out our human resources, we had to use technology to protect our own energy."
Patrick Gruber
- Head of Customer Experience
At this critical crossroads, Adventure Shop's path crossed with lookfor.
Adventure Shop handed over all the past weary letters and thousands of support tickets to lookfor. Like a master craftsman, lookfor read and learned from that historical data, building a structure that understood the brand's values. Do you know its name?
It was Elena.
Elena was not just a software; she became Adventure Shop's new AI companion and customer support hero!
In an incredibly short period less than a week, Elena was fully integrated into the system. As soon as a customer sent an email, Elena immediately stepped in. She had learned the "Stay Light" philosophy. She understood the nature of the incoming query, maintained the brand's friendly voice, and often resolved the issue without human intervention. If she couldn't solve it, she directed it to the right expert.
This meant lightening the operational load on the business, following the products that lightened your physical load! In less than a week, the entire system transitioned, and customer service finally took a breath of relief.
So, what was the result? This is the best part of the story!
Adventure Shop’s success with lookfor was proven by tangible metrics. This is speed!
Average Response Time: Slashed from 12 hours to an incredible 2 minutes!
Support Representative Number: Reduced from nine to four. They operates their support with only 4 representative including Elena.
Resolution Rate: 78%! This meant the vast majority of customers were instantly made happy without human intervention.
Monthly Savings: $17,000!
With this transformation, customers no longer had to wait long for answers.
This is the Adventure Shop story. They lightened our physical loads with their backpacks, they lightened their operational burden with lookfor. They cast off the weight on their shoulders and could thus focus on their true passions: developing new products and making adventure accessible.
"My evening walks with my dog in winter used to be so stressful. Thanks to the Adventure Light (headlamp) and the Glowguard (dog light), our visibility problem is solved. The other day, I had a question about the headlamp's modes. I sent an email at 10 PM and received an instant reply, and my issue was resolved. This speed gives me immense confidence as a customer. Not only are the products great, but the support behind them is also ultra-light and reliable!"
- Adventure Light Customer
Adventure Shop lightened the load with lookfor, first for customers, then for themselves.
Adventure Shop has proven one essential truth: Real minimalism means shedding not only the weight in your backpack but also the unnecessary burden on your business's shoulders. They showed us that safety is not a luxury, family adventures are entirely possible, and the load brought by success should not be feared. The founders wisely embraced technology not as a burden, but as a companion. Their story demonstrates that while catching success is beautiful, scaling it smartly is an art! By utilizing lookfor, they applied their core value lightening the load for adventurers directly to the heaviest operational burden in their own background processes.
This fusion of philosophy and smart technology ensures their continued focus remains on what truly matters: innovating new products and making the next great adventure accessible to everyone. In life and in business, sometimes the biggest challenge is managing success. And at that time, the best solution is not always the heaviest one, but the smartest and the lightest.
Thank you Elena!
Looking Ahead: The Future is Bright
NATPAT's story shows us this: Even when growing and using the latest technology, never lose the essence of your story - your compassion for people and the promise you made. Because the strongest label is always trust.
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