Setting the trend

The Bugaboo Bee debuted in 2007.

Who: Max Barenbrug, design director, Bugaboo International

Background: Max Barenbrug's foray into the juvenile industry began as a class project. To satisfy honors graduation requirements from the Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands, Barenbrug designed items for two subjects — a city bike for mobility and a stroller for leisure. The stroller's unusual design garnered press attention.

“The stroller became a big hit in the press,” Barenbrug said. “Because of the success, I thought it would be easy to sell the concept to stroller manufacturers. But because the concept was too revolutionary, they did not dare to buy it. After some redesigning, I decided together with co-founder Eduard Zanen to start producing the stroller ourselves.”

Barenbrug and Zanen launched Bugaboo in 1996 and began selling the Classic exclusively in Holland in 1999. The brand arrived in the United States four years later and immediately became a trend-setting force in the world of upscale strollers.

The strollers are sold in both national chains and independent stores with a price range between $529 and $2,000. Bugaboo shows in the U.S. at the ABC Expo in Las Vegas and the New York International Gift Fair.

The Process: Barenbrug, who is head designer for Bugaboo, says his basic design process involves thinking of an idea, sketching it out and then rethinking it and sometimes starting all over again.

“It really is a process of making three steps and then (taking) two steps back....” he said. “Adding functionalities (and) taking some away, without compromising.

“Of course there is a new product development process where we work closely with R&D and marketing,” he continued. “You try to get as much input as you can, you incorporate that in all your considerations, but in the end, it is your intuition that tells you whether the end result is really good or not.”

Barenbrug said the inspiration for his designs comes from within. “I do not get influenced by exterior factors,” he said. “I do not read design magazines because it distracts me too much.”

Bugaboo's uniqueness, Barenbrug said, comes from its quality standards and a design aesthetic that appeals to adults.

“First is the integration of form and function. Second, we do not compromise when it comes to quality and dedication. That is why it takes years before we introduce a new stroller model. We make products that are not already out on the market yet,” he said. “Third, we design our products with parents — especially men — in mind. We see them as adults that are the same people they were prior to parenthood.”

The Challenges: Barenbrug said his biggest obstacle is developing new products that fit within the Bugaboo family. “Bugaboo is a design company that makes mobility products; strollers are also mobility products,” he said. “We are designing other products now that have nothing to do with children or parenthood. To develop other products that fit into the Bugaboo brand is therefore our challenge right now.”