E-commerce solution for Maurten, which develops fueling products for high-performance athletes and elite recreational runners.
In the fall of 2016, we began working on one of the most exciting projects we've done.
It’s an e-commerce solution for Maurten, where, together with Forsman & Bodenfors, we designed and built a website with an integrated webshop. We also built the integration with the business system Microsoft Dynamics NAV, managed by Endeavor.
Maurten
Maurten, which is pronounced like the Swedish name Mårten for those wondering, is a Swedish start-up that, since its inception in 2015, has developed a new type of sports drink for high-performance athletes. In March 2017, it was launched on the European market, and in September 2017, sales also opened in the USA.
The Product
The concept is an energy supplement with a very high concentration of carbohydrates encapsulated in a hydrogel, which allows it to pass through the stomach without causing the issues typical of regular sports drinks and energy supplements. Once the hydrogel reaches the intestines, it dissolves, allowing the carbohydrates to be absorbed by the body quickly and efficiently.
The result is a faster and higher energy boost with fewer issues.
Maurten, pronounced like the Swedish name Mårten for those wondering, is a Swedish start-up that, since its inception in 2015, has developed a new type of sports drink for high-performance athletes. In March 2017, it was launched in the European market, and in September 2017, sales also opened in the USA.
Design
When we developed the design for the website, we had access to the concept and guidelines that F&B had created for Maurten and its products.
The guidelines were clear, with a lot of black and white, minimal use of color, typography influenced by the German font DIN, and lots of beautiful photos from Norway's stunning nature, featuring Swedish elite runners Isabella Andersson and Mustafa Mohammed.
From our side, we focused heavily on building a robust framework with several modules, all based on a few different grid systems, adjusted for various screen sizes. This made the website both easy to use and easy to work with. Features like focus points, used when cropping the same image for different formats, and tightly controlled typography make the editor’s job simpler and faster while ensuring a clean and consistent result.
What’s important in e-commerce?
When it comes to the e-commerce solution, a lot needs to function well to provide customers with a great shopping experience. These are the points we focused on in this project:
Then, there are also several things that must work behind the scenes, with some of the most important including:
Of course, the list could go on...
In any case, it has been a pleasure working with everyone involved, and especially the wonderful and friendly people at Maurten. While we’re generally spoiled with great clients, it’s this kind of project that makes it fun to run a company that gets to be involved in many details.
Technology
We needed a Content Management System (CMS) and a flexible, customizable e-commerce solution, and the choice fell on Craft and Craft Commerce.
Over the years, we’ve chosen to work with systems that give us full control over the final result. It’s important for us to be able to control HTML, CSS, and JavaScript as we want, and Craft has proven to be a really good option. The system offers great flexibility, a nice interface for editors, and excellent language support.
Combined with Craft Commerce, you also get an integrated webshop from the same provider. In many cases, CMS and e-commerce solutions are from different vendors, which can cause problems, but here the e-commerce solution is a natural part of the system.
Results
Since elite athletes began using Maurten's products in 2016, the most recent winners in all the major marathons starting from Berlin and New York in 2016, to Tokyo, Boston, and now London and New York in 2017, have all run with the help of Maurten. Impressive!
Even though we’ve had to learn more about VAT, Sales Tax, export regulations, and accounting than we would typically consider healthy for a digital design and technology agency, we look forward to future challenges, new markets and products, and continuing to build on the foundation we’ve now launched.
