KEEGO founder Lukas in interview

Hello Lukas!
We hope you and KEEGO have had a good start to the new year?

Thanks, the breather was very short this time.
We've noticed that there is no longer a classic off-season in the cycling sector. Many people are keeping fit on the rollers or at training camps. The run on the fitness studios is also noticeable for us, and KEEGO is also becoming more and more present in the gym. Here, particular emphasis is placed on proper nutrition, so there is no room for microplastics in the water.

Last week, we were able to present our new limited edition called "Iron Berry" at a community event last week.
The incredibly positive feedback gives us momentum and motivation for a good 2024!

Let's stay with 2023 for a moment. What's your review?

We really arrived in the sports world last year. Especially in the cycling sector, you can no longer ignore us!
A year ago, we still had to explain our product a hundred times, but now almost everyone knows about it. KEEGO has gained many new fans and multipliers and thus reached additional target groups.
As the issues of microplastics and nanoplastics in sports bottles and reusable bottles are also attracting more and more public attention, awareness of pollutant-free hydration has increased.

What will you remember in particular?

The encounters and feedback from enthusiastic KEEGO users at trade fairs and events.
Also the product launch of our 500ml bottle, which has been very well received both for smaller adventures and by children.

But the birth of my son Oskar is right at the top of the list. He has put many things in a different light and increased my motivation - to do something meaningful for future generations - to the maximum.

KEEGO has experienced remarkable growth in recent years. How do you plan to maintain this momentum in the coming year?

We assume that everything will now accelerate all the more.
While the bike industry is struggling with stagnation and insolvencies in certain areas, we are just getting started.
Once you've used KEEGO, you'll never go back to plastic.
Almost all users also recommend KEEGO to their sports colleagues and those around them, as you can see from the results of our customer survey below.
The biggest challenge for us at the moment is therefore to always be available and to further develop our production.

Can you tell us more about KEEGO's goals and visions for the coming years?

It's time to replace the short-lived and bad-tasting plastic bottles. And not just in the DACH region and in cycling, but in all sports.
So much for the short-term goals. 😊
In the long term, I also see KEEGO in space and on Mars.

How important is participation in events and trade fairs for KEEGO? What is planned for 2024?

We want to remain present and approachable. Trade fairs are a good opportunity to be there for customers and fans in person. For many, it's just as important to be able to get their hands on KEEGO and try it out.
We are currently finalizing our calendar, starting with Cyclingworld in Düsseldorf again this year. The exact schedule will be available online soon!

We're also celebrating 5 years of KEEGO in the summer and we're coming up with some great ideas! I'm particularly pleased that 75% of the bottles from the first series will still be in use in 2019.

KEEGO has now built up a strong presence in the cycling community.
In which other sports and areas of application is KEEGO already being used?

Team sports and hiking are at the top of the list.
This is followed by fitness and children's sports.
More and more people are using KEEGO as an everyday bottle: next to the bed, on the way to work, at university or even in the car. The lightness and one-handed safe drinking are clear advantages here.

Are there any special highlights outside the norm?

I found it exciting that some top alpinists in Switzerland rely on KEEGO. For them, it's simply the lightest metal bottle on the market.

However, the list is very long:
The KEEGO flies through the air with paragliders, is squeezed by American football players, crosses continents on bikepacking adventures, is used in maternity wards and is recommended by midwives.
One user then deliberately uses it in the sauna: As a drinking bottle AND for the perfectly dosed infusion!

Are there any well-known sportswomen or athletes who use KEEGO drinking bottles out of conviction?

The best known is definitely Manuel Neuer, who likes to ride his racing bike in his free time and relies on KEEGO.
This winter, we are also represented in the Alpine Ski World Cup, where multiple world champion Sebastian Foss Solevåg is competing with our bottle.
Many professional athletes that I can't mention here are currently still tied to much more financially powerful sponsors and their PR bottles.
However, some riders from World Tour teams also use KEEGO in training to drink cleanly. A lot will change here in the medium term, as top athletes take meticulous care of their bodies.

There are repeated reports about the unequal treatment of the sexes in sport. To what extent does KEEGO support female athletes or clubs? What is your position on this issue?

Our opportunities to support athletes financially are still modest. When we do, it certainly doesn't matter what gender they are. We celebrate every individual achievement and the stories that only sport can write.

Young talent is particularly important to us. However, we also support senior citizens, an LGBTQIA+ cycling club and everything in between.
We are currently particularly proud to be facilitating the start of the first women's elite team from our home city of Vienna.



As the founder of an up-and-coming start-up, you must have experienced highs and lows. What key lessons have you learned on your journey with KEEGO and how have they shaped you?

It's good to just get started with things. It often takes longer, but you learn something new with every step.
The customers or users will then decide whether it's worth sticking with it. It's really important not just to ask people who like you.
As an athlete, it was relatively easy for me to take a sporting approach, because defeats are part of the game. What's more, a new door always opens when one closes. For KEEGO, the feedback was simply too good to stop. But it took a lot of perseverance.
Today I know that hardware development takes much longer than you think. KEEGO, with its new combination of materials, special process and new production facilities, is certainly special.

To what extent has your participation in "Die Höhle der Löwen" influenced the brand and its growth? What advice would you give to other start-ups who want to use similar platforms?

There's no question that it has certainly helped to raise our profile.
But at the same time it took a lot of focus and blocked us in several ways. I think we would have made faster progress without the show. But that's different for every startup. Our recording was postponed twice for a year due to the pandemic and the broadcast was then over a year later again.

My advice to other start-ups: Do it, prepare well and stay true to yourself and your environment.
Grow out of the community and understand what benefits you can bring there. Don't spend too much time on the drawing board, but talk to as many people as possible and constantly test different things.

Expansion into new markets is an important milestone for growing companies. What strategies or considerations is KEEGO pursuing on this path?

So far, we have concentrated on the DACH region and the bicycle sector. Every market has its own rules and multipliers. When we expand into new markets, we want to remain true to our values and grow healthily. Growth at any price is not sustainable and is not what we want.

Where is most of the current demand coming from?

Clearly from Germany and the bicycle sector.
However, we currently sell to all European countries. We also receive daily inquiries from all over the world that we are not yet able to meet.
Demand in the Arab world is also very high. We are proud to have recently started selling in the best bike store in the world, at Wolfi's Bike Shop

How important is the team for KEEGO's success and what qualities or characteristics do you look for when expanding the team?

I have always been a team athlete and know that this is the best way to be successful. Everyone should know how enriching it is to take on different and completely new roles and tasks. The basis for this is a high willingness to learn and independence. We currently have vacancies on the production and procurement side in particular vacancies.
Applications can be sent to [email protected] .

What makes KEEGO attractive as an employer and what special incentives or benefits does the company offer its employees?

Our flexible working hours and our great office in Vienna are attractive.
The versatility and the current dynamic make the work exciting. As we are a small team, we have a good insight into what is happening in marketing, product development, operations and sales.
I also really appreciate the sports industry with its many great events and the healthy and optimistic people we deal with.

What role does financing and finding investors play in KEEGO's future growth plans?

KEEGO is a bottle for every type of sport and is also ideal for children.
In other words, the potential is huge and our development in recent years speaks for itself. However, in order to make KEEGO available to everyone, there will always be times when we have to invest. Especially in new machines, product developments and bottle stocks. Then it can make sense to bring an investor on board.

What tips do you have for other start-up founders who are looking for investment?

Try to establish a relationship with potential investors and ask if you can keep them briefly and concisely informed about your development on a quarterly basis. If this works, you will be in an ideal starting position for a financing round.

What role do customer feedback and feedback regarding product improvements or iterations play, and how do you integrate them into the development process of KEEGO products?

Feedback from our customers is an inspiration for us and influences our decisions. Of course, the frequency of individual requests or ideas is also important. We really appreciate the fact that we have such an active community that is also happy to provide information. We see this in our annual customer survey.

There is a lot on the product roadmap and we are developing various products in parallel. Some of these came onto the plan as a result of suggestions from customers. However, we also had repeated problems with availability last year because production of the current bottles was not fast enough. As a result, we unfortunately had to put the development of new products on the back burner a few times.

How is the product testing process organized at KEEGO, especially with regard to quality assurance?

Over the years, we have developed a 10-page catalog of checks and tests that are carried out between and after the production steps. Random samples are taken and many checks and tests are also carried out on each individual bottle.

Our promise is to deliver a bottle free of harmful substances with an interior made of pure titanium.
We want to set ourselves apart from cheap plastic bottles. We carry out continuous checks to ensure that we do not make any mistakes.
The titanium in turn makes many things easier for us, as it has been researched and tested over many years in terms of biocompatibility.

What innovations is KEEGO planning to further improve its products and their sustainability and performance?

 We know from numerous studies that the useful life of a product has the greatest effect on its sustainability. We want to make KEEGO even more durable and increase the recycled content of the bottle. In the long term, we have set ourselves the goal of using bio-based plastics. However, this is not yet possible without losing function or durability.

How do you rate KEEGO's influence on society's awareness of sustainability and environmentally friendly alternatives?

I'm realistic. Many people are crying out for sustainability.
But as soon as that comes at the expense of price or function, it becomes difficult. For a more sustainable product to replace another, it has to offer additional benefits. For us, these are taste, purity and longevity.
That's why customers are prepared to pay the higher price and make the switch. Although sustainability is now an important factor for more than half of users, for many it is still a nice add-on.

To what extent has the partnership with other companies such as Fidlock helped to expand KEEGO's product range? Are further collaborations on the horizon or what will the focus be?

The cooperation with Fidlock was obvious right from the start and we are delighted that Fidlock also saw it that way. The bottle cage of the future and the bottle of the future. The best of both worlds combined.
And this is also appreciated: the Twist is currently in such high demand that it will not be available again until April.
Two to three further collaborations are underway or in the pipeline.
I think we'll see some of them this year.

But there would be a few more, such as filter bottles or backpacks, where it would make sense. However, it always takes two companies that act as equals and are pulling in the same direction.

What challenges do you expect to face in the area of production and logistics and how do you intend to tackle them?

Increasing production is currently our biggest issue.
Thanks to production in Europe, logistics are fortunately unproblematic.

If we want to produce a larger number of bottles, there is automatically a greater chance that things will not work. In addition, we now have to switch to multi-shift operation, which increases the risks somewhat. However, none of this is anything new and it is also the development we were hoping for. We need to use the time now at the beginning of the year to set the course.

Can you tell us more about KEEGO's refresh program? How exactly does it work?

As we can use the material from old KEEGO bottles, we would like to have them back at the end of their life. In return, customers receive a voucher for a new bottle. It is another important contribution to making KEEGO more sustainable and providing food for thought on the waste of resources.

How can you support KEEGO in its vision?

By telling those around you about it!
The findings on plastic in water are just as frightening as the amount of waste we produce here.

Finally, what would you like to pass on to our readers?

Consume consciously, enjoy the wonderful natural world & KEEP GOING!

PS: If you've made it this far: THANK YOU!
Use the code Lukas10 toget 10% off your entire order!