Hey! Who are you, and what are you working on?
I’m Kim - 27-year-old German who moved to Lisbon 2 and a half years ago to escape the grey and rainy weather in Germany and to be closer to the beaches and ocean. After I finished my Master’s degree in Lisbon last year, I’ve started WONDA - An environmentally conscious swimwear brand aiming to provide a solution that fits every body shape. All our bikinis are made from recycled ocean and landfill plastic waste and are locally and fairly produced in a small factory in Lisbon.
What motivated you to get started with WONDA?
WONDA resulted from a personal pain point that Tete, my co-founder, and I have both experienced for a long time, but have now been confronted with a lot more frequently since we moved to Portugal: Finding a bikini that actually fits. We spent endless hours and lots of our nerves searching the web and also offline, however, there was really nothing we were satisfied with. Even though there are tons of bikini brands out there, none of them really understand how diverse the female body is and how hard it is for every individual woman to actually find a bikini that fits.
But there is another issue that stroke is. Looking at how harmful fast fashion is for our environment made us believe that the world can’t continue to make clothes that do not consider our environment. That’s why we created WONDA.
What went into building the initial product?
We spent over a year doing research on the diversity of the female body, understanding the individual needs, analyzing body shapes and types, problem zones, preferences and requirements. All data that we conducted was the base, the bottom line from which we designed our individual bikini designs. Our products are NOT trending products, the aim is that they fit.
We also spent a lot of time understanding the fashion production industry. We try to keep our environmental impact as low as possible along our whole supply chain. We’ve been seeing a lot of movement here, many options, technologies, and ideas. However, it took quite a while to get an overview, to understand what’s out there and then select the best options.
How do you get and retain your customers?
Instagram is a very helpful tool for a brand - especially a fashion brand. We’ve been very active on here. But also have we experienced that people tend to be even more convinced when they’ve seen and touched our products. For many its quite hard to believe that recycled plastic can be a comfortable material for a bikini. This is why we’ve been doing many showrooms, daily pop-ups, and events.
What were your challenges and obstacles to grow your business?
The seasonality is a huge challenge for swimwear. People like to say: „But there’s always summer somewhere in the world!“ And of course, its true, but every market is so different. It’s not as easy as just switching to sell in Australia once summer in Europe is over. You need to understand the market in Australia: competition, customer needs and wants, logistics and infrastructure, etc. You, therefore, need to be very creative on how to “overcome” winter season.
What has been helpful to help you to grow your business?
Being very active in regards to speaking and connecting with people. I have learned that you can achieve so, so much through connections and with the support of other people these days. We have been able to be quite cost-efficient until today because we’ve leveraged on so many skills and support of friends but also people we’ve met along the way. Cooperating and helping each other out.
What's your advice for surfpreneurs who are just starting out?
Be active in connecting with new people, speak to people, join communities, apply for programs, be super active in socializing. You never know who you meet and what value that person might give you. I met our producer who owns a Lisbon based small factory on a night out - who would have thought!!!
Where can we learn more about you?
Feel free to check out our Instagram as well as our website or drop me an email at kim (a) wondaswim (dot) com in case you might have further questions :)
