Franck Bennardi has done a lot of bad things in his life. Based in Vancouver (Canada), he met Laird Hamilton in Malibu with his friend Gunther Doll, who saw the project to start designing and producing paddle. We are in 2011 and this type of product (a longboard shape with a paddle to move forward) is still in its infancy. The development is planned in California and requires the creation of a company, but visa problems require this "not even fifty years old" to repatriate this creation in France.
Exploring an emerging market
With two friends, Rudy Fenet ex-Oxbow Designer and Gunther Doll ex-Oxbow Marketing (trained by the famous clothing brand), they launch Ecomoana whose headquarters will be established in Cap d'Antibes, in the Mediterranean.
At its creation, the brand offers rigid paddles in composite. From the beginning (and it will remain so), these paddles are chic and elegant, with a strong environmental dimension in the image of the company's name: in Tahitian, Moana means the ocean and Eco comes from ecological..
But the market is not yet ripe enough to accommodate them. Too nascent with too little business, the brand is struggling to find customers. Not finding a product of sufficient quality in inflatable paddles, Ecomoana initially refused to enter this niche. But as the technology evolves, it took the plunge 2 years ago: For the 2018 season, the whole range will be available in inflatable.
A very simple range for more readability and drawn prices
Today, the range of inflatable paddles has the same shapes as the rigid ones (same hull shapes), with the same sizes and surfaces, but in an inflatable version. The gliding pleasure remains comparable to the rigid versions, but they are easier to handle, especially when it comes to storing it in the boot (of a car or boat).
Voluntarily, the range has only 3 models. A paddle for the practice of the ballad available in 2 sizes (10.6 and 12.1 feet depending on the weight of the practitioner) and a model more typified race of 12.6 feet.
All models are wide to ensure good stability (the width facilitates balance when standing on the board). Wide, but with a hull shape designed not to lose too much speed. Boards designed for fun and performance.
Franck Bennardi believes in mass distribution. And to practice the tightest prices, he confines himself to distribution on the Internet, in order to limit costs by cutting out intermediaries.
A parked identity to go beyond the fashions
For the identity of the brand, a big effort is made in the decoration of the board. An Ecomoana paddle stands out from the others. Not that it is fashionable, but rather that its look is timeless, a timeless identity. As a result, the brand's clientele is largely feminine. No doubt they are as sensitive to design as they are to performance?
Unlike many other paddle brands, Ecomoana is not looking to enter the world of surfing. For this brand, the paddle must allow you to live an experience at a time or in a place. Unlike surfing, paddle is very easy to access. It requires no technical or physical skills, nor even sea or weather conditions to practice it. On a paddle, the pleasure is immediate! Paddle is a sport for everyone and Ecomoana intends to offer its customers the most elegant products to practice it.
