Blender Design

23/03/2026

"You've got to develop a product that's fantastic to use, but it also needs to be cost-effective. There's lots of trade-offs to make."
– Oliver McDermott, Co-founder of Blender

Good design is a balancing act. User experience, manufacturability, cost, performance, and brand perception all have to work together.

Blender helps clients navigate those tensions with clarity and realism, no fluff, no over-promising, just smart decisions.

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15/11/2025

🧩 One small clip. One giant leap for barefoot comfort.
Traditional carpet rivets in marine environments? Hot, rust-prone, and a pain to replace. Fastmount knew there had to be a better way.

So we helped them design one.

The Fastmount Carpet Clip offers a smarter, safer way to secure heavy-duty carpets on boats, platforms and campervans, strong enough to handle the rough stuff, easy enough to remove for seasonal swaps.

✔️ Safer for bare feet
✔️ Patented screw-in design
✔️ Handles high-shear forces
✔️ Simplifies cleaning and replacement

The result? A small innovation that makes a big difference in performance and user experience.

🛠️ Dive into the case study: https://www.blender.nz/portfolio/carpets-held-fast/

06/11/2025

Futura Trailers build high-end transport solutions for car enthusiasts who expect the best, and their trailers already looked the part.

But the control system? That needed to catch up.

Blender worked with the Futura team to rethink the touchpoints, designing a refined remote and control box that matched the premium promise of the brand.

The result:
✔ A seamless, tactile remote with intuitive design cues
✔ A clean, professional winch box interface
✔ Stronger user experience and elevated brand perception

As Futura’s founder put it:
“It’s strengthened customer perception, enhanced confidence in sales conversations, and reinforced that every detail of our trailers lives up to the premium positioning of the brand.”

🔗 Read the full case study: https://www.blender.nz/portfolio/futura-remote/

20/10/2025

The hidden challenge for hardware startups? It’s not the idea. It’s ex*****on.

A lot of startups think that once the prototype works, production will be straightforward. But as Elon Musk put it:

"Production engineering is 10 to 100 times harder than designing a product."

The hard part isn’t coming up with a great idea — it’s turning that idea into hundreds or thousands of consistent, cost-effective, and reliable products.

So what makes the difference?

✅ Design for Manufacture (DFM) from day one, thinking about production constraints early avoids costly changes later.
✅ Jigs and fixtures, simple tooling can streamline assembly, reduce errors, and speed things up.
✅ Quality control at every stage, supplier checks, in-line testing, and early problem solving all reduce waste and cost.
At Blender, we work with startups to embed this thinking into the design process from the start, helping them move from prototype to product with fewer surprises.

If you’ve scaled a hardware product, what was your biggest learning curve?

15/10/2025

We’re proud to share that the Edwards & Co Lucci Stroller has been awarded Silver in the 2025 Consumer Product category at the Best Design Awards.

Designed in close collaboration with the Edwards & Co team, Lucci impressed the judges with its seamless blend of style, function and simplicity, a reflection of Edwards & Co’s commitment to designing products that genuinely support modern family life.

From its auto-folding mechanism to its compact portability, every detail of Lucci was created with real parents in mind. Blender was proud to support Edwards & Co from early design through to production, ensuring every touchpoint aligned with their vision.

“Every detail of this pram was designed with real parents in mind. The Silver award is a reflection of the passion and collaboration that goes into every Edwards & Co product.” — Mark Edwards, Founder and Director.

Congratulations to Edwards & Co and everyone involved in bringing this incredible product to life.

See more about the project: https://www.blender.nz/portfolio/lucci-stroller/

08/10/2025

Manufacturing might be the last step in product development, but it’s often the hardest.

It’s where good design is put to the test.

Where delays happen, decisions compound, and things get real fast.

That’s why having the right partner makes all the difference.

In this blog, Tobin Raj (our Production & Supply Manager) shares insights from the front line of contract manufacturing, what works, what breaks, and what helps a product scale smoothly.

From ISO prep to in-house assembly and offshore transitions, here’s how we help businesses make manufacturing less intimidating, and more effective.
🔗 Read the full story

From design to production, Blender helps businesses tackle manufacturing challenges, scale efficiently, and deliver high-quality products every step of the way.

13/08/2025

What if your toothbrush could help cut tonnes of plastic waste every year?
Fongky’s clever replaceable-head design means you keep the same handle for years, just swapping out the bristles when they wear out. That’s 85% less plastic in landfill – without changing your brushing routine.
We worked with founder Gavin Fong to turn this idea into a durable, fully recyclable system that’s easy to use and affordable.
See how it all came together: https://www.blender.nz/portfolio/brushing-up-on-sustainability/

31/07/2025

What if cutting methane from cattle was as simple as swallowing a bolus? Ruminant Biotech’s bolus just won the 2025 Fieldays Prototype Innovation Award. This clever product is already reducing methane by up to 70% in trials, without changing how farmers feed their herds.

But the real breakthrough? It’s verifiable, traceable, and opens the door to on-farm incentives, green finance and low-carbon supply chains.

Blender is proud to support the Prototype Award and is excited by the opportunity to work with the team to help scale this smart solution. Read how it works and why this could be a game changer for agriculture:

Meet the winner of the 2025 Fieldays Prototype Innovation Award. Ruminant Biotech’s methane-reducing bolus offers a new way to tackle agricultural emissions, and Blender is excited to help take it further.

21/07/2025

Fieldays 2025 once again proved that innovation in Aotearoa is alive and well, not just in the high-tech labs, but in the sheds, workshops and paddocks where smart thinking meets real-world problems.

From methane-busting food tech to smarter tools for safer lifting, the innovations we saw this year were grounded, practical, and packed with potential. It was a privilege to support the Innovation Hub again and connect with so many passionate people driving positive change in our primary industries.

In our wrap-up blog, we’ve highlighted a handful of standout moments that stayed with us, including:

Bactosure’s on-the-spot water testing tech
Ramrack’s lifting tool designed by a farmer, for farmers
Bovonic’s rapid mastitis detection system
Elert EQ’s smart wearable for equine health
Mara Bio's use of fermentation to create nutrient-rich food ingredients
These are just a few examples of the bold, problem-solving mindset we saw on display.

Check out our full Fieldays recap here: https://www.blender.nz/2025/06/kiwi-ingenuity-at-fieldays-2025/

16/07/2025

Huski’s Champagne Cooler is a new benchmark in design, recently recognised with the Red Dot Design Award.

In our interview with Huski founder Simon Huesser, we explore how deep user insight and precise engineering created features like the BubbleLock™ Bottle Stopper, changing how you enjoy sparkling wine.

Blender supported Huski through every stage, shaping a product that balances performance and elegance.

Read the full story: https://www.blender.nz/2025/07/red-dot-recognition-huski-champagne-cooler/ Huski

16/05/2025

What we really do in China (and why it matters for your product)
When most people think of manufacturing in China, they think cost savings.
At Blender, we think capability, quality, and scalability.
Our co-founder Ollie just returned from a whirlwind 10-day, 7-city tour across China, visiting 16 factories and deep-diving into every layer of our supply chain.
Why?
Because great products don’t come from handing over a design file and hoping for the best. They come from partnerships, presence, and precision.
From improving quality and reducing waste, to scaling production with flexibility—our China trips directly enhance the work we do and the results our clients see.
👉 Read Ollie’s full insights here:

Discover how Blender's hands-on partnerships in China drive exceptional quality, scalability, and sustainability for innovative, market-ready products.