04/07/2024
Can you provide a brief history of Vélosophy and how the idea of providing eco-friendly bicycles originated?
One article. That is how it started. Reading and learning from that specific article, which stated that in many parts of the world a bicycle could mean the difference between life and death, gave me purpose and motivation to found a bicycle brand revolving around a One-for-One promise. With purpose came a mission and we set out to become the most sustainable bike brand in the world, using as much recycled material in our bike as possible and combining it with a social mission; donating one bike for every one sold. Today we can proudly say that our frames are made from 95% recycled aluminium and that we have donated many thousands of bikes. Becoming a brand that is recognised to drive social and environmental change spurs us on every day.
Could you describe the key features of your bicycles that make them particularly suitable for hotel guests?
Besides features such as recycled, lightweight and very comfortable the fact that every Vélosophy bicycle is bringing hope of a better future for schoolgirls in developing countries (as one bike is donated for every Vélosophy sold) gives the possibility to tell a strong and engaging story and a chance to link social and environmental impact to the hotels own sustainability work/ambitions. That hopefully creates a unique platform to communicate from which we believe gives the hotel a chance to meet their guests with an extraordinary bicycle experience.
Can you share any memorable experiences or anecdotes related to your work with Vélosophy?
There are so many memories along the way, not always good and funny at the time but no doubt memorable. One that comes to mind is from the very beginning when we launched the brand and our first bikes. At that time we only had 2 samples which we had used to create our site and all content with. Not really believing in it, we sent out a couple of press releases and couldn’t believe the traction we got. Before we knew it we had sold close to 100 bikes but we had none to deliver. They were all in production and still 3 months away. So we had to start with reaching out to customers telling them that we were overwhelmed by the interest but that we could not deliver any bikes, for quite some time. Fortunately for us, most customers were cool about it and stayed put with their order. It’s a good story today but at the time it was a bit stressful, as you can imagine.
How do you ensure the longevity and performance of your bicycles?
We could, as most do, manufacture our bike in Asia with lower quality components, but as we have set out to be the most sustainable bike brand in the world, we have chosen differently. Our bikes are responsibly sourced and sustainably made in Europe with high quality and long lasting components. With a normal level of maintenance this ensures good function over time as well as a long happy bike life.
How do your bicycles economically benefit hotels and their guests?
We believe that a bicycle, ours in particular, can be an important part of the overall guest experience. Bikes are not only good for health, they are environmentally friendly in a hard-to-compete-with kind of way, and they are arguably the best and swiftest way to cover any distances up to 30k. Add to that our unique promise that for every Vélosophy bike out there rolling, there is a girl somewhere in a developing country, pedalling towards education, big dreams and a brighter future.
So we honestly believe that our bikes are putting wheels in motion, being part of an ecosystem impacting social, environmental and health aspects.
As a bonus we also offer all hotel guests a chance to join our ride – to pedal with a purpose – having a 25% VIP voucher.
