Sports Product Development

Leading UK product design agency for developing and prototyping innovative sports products

At D2M we have over a decade of experience developing new sports products for many clients. We are exceptionally skilled in the design and prototyping of sports products, ranging from recovery garments, new sport equipment, golf trolleys and even a unique electronic football training aid!

Designing New Sports Products

This is often the most exciting part of the process. It is where we help innovative and conceptualise your ideas and also further concepts and new materials that our creative design team can help bring to the table. We run innovation workshop with our clients as this is a partnership where we start to dig into your vision for the new product whilst helping shape the concept with our knowledge of what is possible to achieve in production.

This critical stage of the product development process often concludes with a commercial viability assessment as price is often critical for a successful new product launch in the sports product sector. Read more about this exhilarating part of the process as concepts starts to develop.

Prototyping Sports Products

How sports product ideas are prototyped depends hugely on the materials used. Textile products are relatively quick to develop and test whilst hard goods products, particular those with integrated electronics can take a lot longer to prototype. This is often the most expensive part of product development and so it is worth ensuring that the new product idea is fully validated before commencing building prototypes.

Manufacturing Sports Products

Due to cost requirements, most sports products are manufactured in China although this is starting to change for the premium end of the market. Boxing equipment is made mainly in India and Pakistan. The process will involve a detailed manufacturing specification once the design of your product is finalised and then sourced the right sports product producer for your idea and your requirements. Quality Control, packaging, shipping, warning labels and instruction manuals all need to be considered at this stage.

Selling a New Sports Product

Now the hard work begins! Selling a new product from a previously unknown brand is very hard work. Retail buyers for larger retailers are incredibly busy and difficult to get hold of and you have no customer base who is out there organically growing your brand talking to their friends and so marketing and a lot of hard work will be required to get your product out there and known. It’s not all bad news, crowdfunding can help promote your new product, platforms like Amazon are low cost ways of getting started and social media can be a good way to build a loyal customer base.

Sports Product Design Case Studies

Below are just a few of the different sports products that we have designed and prototyped. We also source manufacturers and can guide our clients through to tooling and production, if required.

Do you have any innovative sports product ideas?

We’ve worked with a number of clients to bring innovative sports products to the market. Take a look at them and some of the other products we’ve worked on in our case studies section.

The sports product sector is a huge market and one that’s likely to keep growing, especially after all these lockdowns…. So it’s a great time to be developing new sports products. Contact us today and we can arrange a call to discuss your project requirements.

Let us help you bring your new product to market.

If you’re looking to develop a new product or re-design an existing range but lack the in-house capacity or expertise to make it a reality, get in touch with us today to discuss your requirements.

Ultimate Guide to Protecting a New Idea

Uncertain where to start with Intellectual property? All the secrets, tips and tricks to Patents, Registered Designs, Trademarks and Copyright. Download your pdf guide now.

Ultimate Guide to Protecting a New Idea

Uncertain where to start with Intellectual property? All the secrets, tips and tricks to Patents, Registered Designs, Trademarks and Copyright. Download your pdf guide now.

Client Testimonials

What people say

Phil and Sarah at the D2M team helped us to take our product Saddlemac from prototype to a manufacturable item. It really was from 'design to market!' They helped us through every step of the journey, from an industry standard manufacturing spec, through sampling all the way to getting our product manufactured to a high quality for a competitive price.

I have been working with D2M for a number of years now in relation to my concept and their enthusiasm, skill and aptitude has been second to none. I couldn't have wished for a better partner along the way. I couldn't recommend them more highly.

D2M is a skilled product design company founded by Phil Staunton. Many ideas start sketched on a napkin, and D2M has developed the concept through to high-volume manufacturing. Phil built this business from the ground up, making his insights invaluable.

Extremely experienced design company who are able to provide the skills necessary for product design from Mood Board artistry through Mechanical Design and Tooling requirement and into production. Highly recommended!

Excellent product design & development business, we used D2M a few years back in the development of a consumer product. Creative, clear processes, deep network, client-centric & good budget management, definitely a go-to business for NPD.

Expert Knowledge

We’re all about helping companies, startups and entrepreneurs to succeed with designing new products.

Get your hands on some of our carefully crafted videos, pdfs and podcasts. If you want to successfully develop and launch a new product idea then click the images to discover more about these free, instantly available resources.