The founders of luggage startup Horizn Studios explain how its products incorporate smart technology to serve a new generation of travellers in this exclusive movie Dezeen produced for the Berlin-based brand.
Horizn Studios was co-founded by entrepreneurs Stefan Holwe and Jan Roosen, who claim millennial travellers are looking for luggage that incorporates digital innovation.
"At Horizn we produce smart luggage," Roosen says in the movie. "This means that we introduce elements that cater to the digital lifestyle of the new generation of travellers."
Amongst the smart features that the company has incorporated into their products is a removable and rechargeable battery that can be used to charge phones and tablets.
Customers also have the option of tracking their Horizn luggage using a GPS system linked to a smartphone application, and will be able to avoid losing their belongings with a device called the Horizn Guard Card, which Holwe describes as "a proximity alert that helps you to not leave things behind".
Unlike traditional luggage manufacturers, the brand sells directly to their customers, which its co-founders claim allows them to offer a higher-quality product at an affordable price. "The traditional luxury approach from the 80s is kind of outdated," Holwe says in the movie.
"The world of travel has changed a lot over the past 20 or 30 years, through low-cost carriers and the explosion of a travelling middle class," Holwe continues. "We're the first vertical player in the luggage industry, cutting out unnecessary wholesale margins, and we think that you can and should offer a product of luxury quality at a smart price."
Horizn's signature products are its cabin trolleys, the Model H and the Model M. The Model H is named after its hard polycarbonate shell. "You can essentially jump on it and it jumps back into shape," claims Roosen.
The Model M employs the same hard shell, but adds a front pocket made of Italian Vachetta leather and lined with nylon, designed to allow quick access to travel essentials.
Both cases additionally come equipped with wheels sourced from Japan. "We teamed up with the experts there to develop a wheel that's very durable and at the same time silent," says Roosen.
Horizn's founders see themselves as innovators within an industry lacking in innovation.
"If you look back at the last 30 years in the luggage industry, you don't find any innovation that responds to the digital lives of our time" says Holwe. "I think the biggest innovation you can find is that they went from two wheels to four wheels. We want to drive that field forward, and see ourselves as a technology disruptor also of the industry."
This movie was filmed by Dezeen in Berlin for Horizn Studios. All photography used in the video and the story are courtesy of Horizn Studios.