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Snow Peak’s Annual Branded Retreat Engages Fans Creatively and Authentically

objmigrationbot — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 04:59:20 +0000

Driving into the verdant box canyon in Oregon’s Tygh Valley, just a couple hours east of Portland, we found ourselves in a massive clearing, filled with tents, vans, firepits, and people. Lots of people. This year’s Snow Peak Way, a weekend retreat from Japanese outdoor brand Snow Peak, brought together almost 150 consumers, Snow Peak staff, and their families (including a delightful abundance of corgis).

Snow Peak Way retreats started in Japan in the 1990s, when a declining interest in car camping led to stagnating sales for the camping brand. The retreat presented an opportunity to bridge a gap that had formed between consumer and producer. By bringing employees and customers together, the company invented a way to connect deeply with its fan base and get valuable feedback on its products and services. The gathering quickly grew from a yearly event to a semiannual one, and now takes place 30 times a year in more than 13 campsites across Japan, the U.S., Taiwan, and Korea.

This year marked the program’s third U.S. iteration (not counting a remote retreat in 2020). Guests were encouraged to bring their own gear and accommodations, but were able to rent any equipment they did not have. The site boasted a camp canteen, hiking and biking trails, and a pair of golden eagles that had taken residence high up on the canyon walls.

Ian Williams of Deadstock Coffee Roasters prepares a morning brew at Snow Peak Way. (Photo: Jiakai Chang)

During the day, guests attended workshops on coffee roasting, Japanese shibori indigo dyeing, and other skills. At night, the campers gathered around fires for Takibi Time—a distillation of everything the company hoped to achieve with the retreat. Around the fire circles, people were encouraged to share their stories, either as employees or fans of Snow Peak, while sitting in branded camp chairs and roasting s’mores.

How Snow Peak Came to America

Snow Peak arrived slowly in United States. Though the brand was founded in 1958, U.S. distribution didn’t come around until 22 years ago, when a family of enthusiasts in Portland offered to package and ship products from their garage. From there, the company has upsized significantly, moving to a larger warehouse every few years to keep up with inventory demand.

With its growing presence in the American market, the brand is now setting its sights on optimizing both its products and its services for American outdoor enthusiasts. Some changes have been simple, such as as enlarging its shelters to accommodate taller customers. Others have been more complicated, with significant investments in product redesigns and additions.

Product changes for the U.S. market have been spearheaded by the brand’s American team in collaboration with president of Snow Peak USA Tohru Yamai. Though the company’s head office in Japan must approve all new ideas, the expansion into the American market is currently underway with a deep understanding of what makes American outdoorists tick.

A consistent Vision for the Brand

With its Snow Peak Way USA and the announcement of plans for a permanent campground in Washington state, Snow Peak is trying to reinvent what it means to be an American outdoor company. COO Matt Liddle told ��ԹϺ�� Business Journal that, while many U.S. outdoor companies focus on performance as a keystone ideal, Snow Peak is more of a “gathering company.”

Snow Peak’s new headquarters in Portland combines a retail store, restaurant, and office space. (Photo: Snow Peak)

“We believe that time outside with others restores the human spirit. That’s what our mission is,” Liddle said. “The modern world is a convenient place, but it’s also a stressful and polarizing and anxious one for a lot of people. Human beings are in the danger zone of becoming the world’s first indoor species. We believe that time outside with other people is an antidote to those pressures of modern life.”

For decades, Snow Peak Japan has been expanding beyond its early roots as a mountaineering gear company to become a force for bringing local communities into the outdoors. Its philosophy of closeness to its consumer base is reflected in the concept of Snow Peak Way and the campgrounds it operates across Japan—including one outside the company’s headquarters in Niigata, Japan.

By transplanting these ideals to the U.S., the company hopes to extend this vision to American families. So far, things seem to be going well. The company just had its most successful year to date in 2020, and tickets to this year’s Snow Peak Way sold out within an hour of release. Given the pandemic-driven increase in American outdoor participation, it seems that Snow Peak is charting a profitable path into the future of outdoor rec.

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Snow Peak Rethinks the Traditional Campground with 25-Acre ‘Campfield’ Concept

objmigrationbot — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 23:11:08 +0000

Snow Peak might be renowned for making premium outdoor gear, as it’s done since 1958, but the company believes its purpose is much deeper than selling tents, cook sets, and fire pits the world over.

The Japanese brand is more concerned with inspiring consumers to connect with nature, so its latest venture isn’t some new-and-improved product that allows campers to boil water faster or sleep warmer or stay drier—it’s about creating a restorative experience people can have outside.

Snow Peak will soon break ground on a 25-acre campground and community gathering center whose mission is to “unite people and alleviate the stresses of modern life through time together outside.”

The campground, called the Long Beach Campfield, will be located on 25 acres along the Pacific Ocean shoreline in southern Washington state between Seattle and Portland. Scheduled to open for the 2023 camping season, the campground is modeled after six similar locales in Japan and honors a brand ethos that’s coursed through the company since its founding more than 60 years ago.

Snow Peak’s Long Beach Campfield will be based on similar concepts the company operates in Japan. (Photo: Courtesy)

“We believe that time outside with others restores the human spirit. That’s what our mission is,” Matt Liddle, COO of Snow Peak USA, told ��ԹϺ�� Business Journal. “The modern world is a convenient place, but it’s also a stressful and polarizing and anxious one for a lot of people. Human beings are in the danger zone of becoming the world’s first indoor species. We believe that time outside with other people is an antidote to those pressures of modern life. This campground for us is squarely aligned with that ethos. It’s a place where people can come to reconnect to nature and reconnect to each other.”

Snow Peak Rethinks the Campground

The fact that an outdoor brand will own and operate the facility automatically makes it different from a traditional campground operator like privately held KOA or the government-run U.S. Forest Service. Snow Peak believes that as it breaks ground on Long Beach Campfield, it will break the mold of the traditional campground.

“In the U.S., I don’t think anybody’s truly rethought the campground in decades,” Liddle said. “We’ve seen some interesting development in outdoor recreation-based hospitality recently here in the U.S., and it’s fun to think ‘OK, let’s take the campground itself make it better.’”

The Long Beach Campfield, like its predecessors in Japan, is primarily about reimagining the camping experience for visitors, Liddle says. In addition to giving campers access to nature, including 10 acres of onsite wetlands that will be restored through the project, the Campfield will feature a heated soaking tub and saunas in Japanese-inspired onsen structures, as well as spaces for gatherings and programs.

As it does in Japan, Snow Peak will also use the location to engage with customers and perform R&D for the products it designs, manufactures, and sells. Liddle says the Snow Peak USA team, based in nearby Portland, Oregon, will be able to easily visit the Campfield to gain feedback on a range of fire pits, cooking utensils, and other products the company is known for.

Snow Peak is a for-profit company, of course, and the Long Beach Campfield will have a store on-premises where campers can buy or rent gear they forgot—or maybe something they didn’t know they needed. They’ll even be able to grab some camping essentials like ingredients for s’mores or some adult beverages.

“It’ll have a phenomenal selection of Snow Peak gear for purchase or rent, but on top of that we’ll have what I consider like a general store—batteries and firewood and a great bottle of wine and some magazines—the things that we think people might need or want on a camp trip,” Liddle said.

Snow Peak’s Campfield Experience

For those who think, “Wait, I don’t want some Snow Peak employee barging into my campground to sell me something or ask my opinion on a camp stove,” Liddle says not to worry. The campground will still have a traditional feel of the typical Forest Service site where you can escape the world—including other people, whether that’s campers or sales staff.

“Ultimately, anybody can come to our campground and just have a camping experience,” he said. “They don’t need to own Snow Peak products. They don’t even need to know who Snow Peak is. We hope that at the tail end of their camping experience they’re going to know a lot more about who Snow Peak is and they’re going to fall in love with our products. For instance, every camper is going to get a chance to use the Takibi fire and grill, our iconic fire pit, at their campsite. If you didn’t know Snow Peak, by the time you leave you’ll at least have used one product at the heart of your experience.”

However, Liddle adds, for campers that want a “deeper brand experience,” they can show up at the Long Beach Campfield empty-handed except for their clothes and get fully outfitted. He says it’s a way for Snow Peak to “democratize” the camping experience that for too long has excluded those who don’t want to spend money on tents, sleeping bags, and outdoor cooking gear that they may use once a year or less.

Even though it will be operated by a brand, Campfield will still have the traditional feel of a typical Forest Service property, company leaders say. (Photo: Courtesy)

“At a campground, the sense is, you need to own gear, you need to know how to set it up, you need to know what you’re doing, and you need to bring all your stuff. And if you don’t have the stuff, you don’t know how to camp, or you’re not comfortable using it, you don’t get to camp,” Liddle said. “That, by its nature, is more exclusive than we think camping should be. If we have this mission to restore the human spirit, we want to make that available to all humans, whether they have experience camping and own gear or not.”

Liddle added that he can “also see use cases for somebody who has all the gear but decides, ‘Wow, that sounds easy. I don’t need to load my car with a bunch of stuff, and I can just go there and start camping right away.’”

Campfield by the Numbers

The Long Beach Campfield will include a variety of camping experiences from traditional walk-up campsites to tent platforms and van hook-ups. Plans call for about 60 campsites, around a dozen of the preset campsites with Snow Peak camping gear included for those without their own setups, and up to ten of Snow’s Peak mobile cabins called Jyubakos.

The company is investing upward of $8 million in the campground, and it’s an investment that Snow Peak believes will pay dividends in a few ways, Liddle says. Yes, the Campfield is designed to make money—but the measure of its success won’t be limited to the top line.

“We built the financial model in a way that we feel comfortable that it will create a measurable return for Snow Peak USA,” Liddle said. “On the non-measurable side, we know that velocity for the brand and love for the product will come out of that. We’re delighted that both the industry and consumers are starting to take note. This, I think, will continue beating that drum for Snow Peak. The other non-measurable is our mission of helping restore the human spirit. We’re designing a space for that to happen.”

Liddle also said the Campfield will “create a couple of dozen jobs” with the actual number fluctuating based on seasonality. The addition of new outdoor recreation employment is something that has Liddle particularly stoked.

“I have long been a deep believer in the power of outdoor recreation to reboot rural economies,” he said. “As extractive industries recede in a lot of places, there are a lot of rural economies trying to figure out what’s next. Outdoor recreation, as we know, is a powerful economic force. We’re excited to join a community where things are already starting to happen and create more jobs and drive more tourism on this wild stretch of the Pacific Coast.”

A Reflection of Snow Peak’s Mission

What’s more, he added, with the surge in more people getting outside ever since COVID hit last year, the need for more campgrounds is evident. Anyone who’s tried booking a last-minute campsite near a place like Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake, or Denver knows the frustration of today’s supply-demand imbalance.

“In the American West, there is a lot of demand for campsites and a shortage of supply,” Liddle said. “Adding more inventory to reservable campsites in the West is a good thing and it’s going to produce a return for us as well.”

The campground isn’t the first outside-the-product-box idea that Snow Peak has brought to the U.S. market this year. Earlier this year, the brand opened a restaurant at the site of its Portland headquarters. Liddle says the brand is planning to bring more unique ventures to the U.S., including the possibility of making and selling those Jyubako cabins to consumers here, as the brand already does in Japan.

More Campfields down the road are possible too, perhaps in other parts of the country, but the company wants to learn from this first one before moving forward with a second.

As Snow Peak steps into this concept in the U.S., it does so with the belief that the brand is building something to last, company leaders say—that it’s differentiating in a crowded space and meeting the demands of a new audience while still honoring the company’s historic roots.

“This is a deeply special brand,” Liddle said. “It’s been around for 60 years, but it’s only in the last few years that we’re starting to spread our wings and express the brand the way that it’s truly come to exist in places like Japan. From the restaurant to the campground to some more ideas that we have in the pipeline, it’s a great time to be at Snow Peak because we’re getting to express a powerful brand’s mission in the world’s largest outdoor marketplace—North America.”

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Snow Peak Opens Takibi Restaurant, a Tasty Approach to Experiential Retail

objmigrationbot — Thu, 20 May 2021 01:33:33 +0000

As early customers started trickling in shortly after 3 P.M. on Tuesday, the gentle, opening-day hum of Snow Peak’s new Takibi began to take shape.

“I love that they’re doing this in a unique and minimalistic way,” said diner Mac Bailey, an ardent Snow Peak fan, admitting he and fellow patron Ryan Sweet had been waiting for opening day for a long time.

“It’s a really intimate experience with the brand and food culture,” Sweet added.

In the outside dining space, Takibi customers relax in Snow Peak camp chairs amidst trees and and string lights. (Photo: Courtesy)

Located on Portland’s re-emerging NW 23rd Avenue, Takibi marks the arrival of not only what’s sure to be one of the city’s most sought-after dining destinations, but a pioneering approach to how outdoor brands can organically provide space for the local community while offering ample opportunity to interact with their wares.

“We want Takibi to become the beating hub of the community—something larger than the restaurant itself,” said Snow Peak COO Matt Liddle.

He noted that the restaurant is not a “sales tactic” for gear, but rather a space where Portland’s outdoor community can come together, enjoy a moment to slow down, and let those experiences with Snow Peak products naturally follow.

At the restaurant, product experiences are subtly intertwined into every part of the meal: each table setting has Snow Peak chopsticks and a camp lantern, and certain drinks are served in the brand’s iconic camp mugs. ��ԹϺ�� on the patio, diners sit in the brand’s camp furniture.

“This experience is certainly a tester for some of their products,” said first-day diner Opal Dillard, sitting on a foldable Snow Peak chair on Takibi’s patio.

Takibi Embodies the Snow Peak Ethos

With respect to conversations about “authenticity” and brands staying true to their roots, Snow Peak appears to have found a winning combination. With emerging chef Alex Kim and a high-powered bar team led by notable bar industry veteran Jim Meehan, Takibi is positioned not only to thrive in Portland’s ultra-competitive dining scene, but also to give patrons a chance to begin or deepen their relationship with Snow Peak through a high-caliber hospitality experience.

The open kitchen concept is inviting and vibrant, and the Japanese-inspired food is delicious. (Photo: Courtesy)

That experience includes the food. Liddle noted that he and his team spent time eating their way through Snow Peak’s native prefecture in Japan, understanding the seasonality of various offerings and how that could translate to Takibi’s approach. True to form, the Japanese-inspired menu focuses on local ingredients prepared and served with a camping flare. In this discerning dining market, that approach is essential to success.

Traditionally speaking, outdoor brands usually open a store to showcase their products, letting consumers touch and feel items. Takibi actually puts products into use, amplifying the product-consumer connection—and the potential to convert that use into a sale.

“When you do brick-and-mortar in the outdoor business, you’re typically building a space to house products,” Liddle said, “but in this space we’re saying, ‘Let’s build a space to house people.’”

To that end, Snow Peak created the venue with the help of one of the city’s top architectural firms—using plenty of subtle, neutral colors and overgrown plant life meshing the outdoors with urban life in a way only Snow Peak can do.

Pandemic Delays

Takibi was originally scheduled to open last summer (in tandem with Snow Peak’s new HQ and flagship store), but the pandemic delayed plans and Snow Peak was forced to wait. The restaurant sat unused until the timing to open was right.

At Takibi, the Snow Peak brand is integrated in myriad ways—from cocktails in titanium camp cups to tables set with Snow Peak sporks and chopsticks to Snow peak camp chairs around the outside tables. (Photo: Courtesy)

Liddle said that while standalone financial success is an important marker for Takibi, the broader vision is that it’s a place to deepen understanding of the Snow Peak brand, values, and community. He wants Takibi to be a space where employees love coming to work every day and where customers will have a dining experience they’ll want to return to again and again.

As Takibi opens lunch and takeaway service later this summer, the concept will act as a roadmap for how Snow Peak might build out future U.S. retail and dining locations.

“This is the first time we’ve done this in the U.S. and we believe it will be really successful,” Liddle said. “As this thing starts to come to life, its success will inform how far we want to go. There’s always been a vision of more than one and we don’t believe Portland is the only place this will resonate.”

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