From iF DESIGN AWARD winners to Forbes 30 under 30: How to turn recognition into trust and success

You recently won two iF DESIGN AWARDS and were later named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list. Was there a particular moment when you realized that these achievements were starting to change the trajectory of your company?

The past year has been the most surreal of our entrepreneurial journey. Winning two iF DESIGN AWARDS and later being named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list were both milestones we never imagined when we started building TroisPommes Home.

The biggest realization wasn't a single moment — it was seeing how people immediately recognized the awards as a mark of quality. Whether it was customers, retailers or partners. Awards don't build a company for you, but they can accelerate trust. For us, that has been one of the greatest values.

You mentioned that your iF DESIGN AWARDS even came up during the Forbes selection process. Looking back, where has the award had the biggest impact: customer trust, media visibility, business growth, partnerships, or something else entirely?

If we had to choose one, it would be trust. When customers invest in premium outdoor furniture, they're buying something they expect to enjoy for many years. Independent recognition from one of the world's most respected design awards helps reinforce that confidence. It has elevated the overall perception of TroisPommes Home and strengthened our position in the market.

Many people see design awards as recognition for great aesthetics. Your story suggests they can also become a catalyst for growth. How has design contributed to the commercial success of TroisPommes, and what role does it play in your business strategy today?

For us, design has never been about making furniture look beautiful. Design is how the product functions, how it is delivered, how customers interact with it and how long it lasts. Every decision from modular construction and vacuum-compressed packaging to weather-resistant fabrics and Scandinavian simplicity is part of the design process. The iF DESIGN AWARDS validated that philosophy. They confirmed that thoughtful design creates real value for customers, and that value ultimately becomes a competitive advantage. Today, design isn't just part of our business strategy, it is the foundation of it.

Reflecting on your conversations with Forbes, what aspects of your journey, company, or vision do you think resonated most strongly with the selection committee?

We believe it was our ambition to rethink a traditional industry. Furniture hasn't changed much for decades, yet logistics, sustainability and consumer expectations have evolved dramatically. At TroisPommes Home, we're rethinking how outdoor furniture is designed, shipped and experienced. We combine modular Scandinavian design with durable OEKO-TEX® and SGS-tested materials, long-life construction and vacuum-compressed shipping that reduces transport volume and improves logistics efficiency. Ultimately, we believe innovation isn't always about inventing something entirely new. Sometimes it's about reimagining an existing product in a smarter way.

Your products combine Scandinavian-inspired design with durability, weather resistance, and material innovation. What was the biggest challenge in creating furniture that performs as well as it looks?

Finding the balance between aesthetics and performance. Beautiful outdoor furniture isn't enough if it can't withstand years of changing weather conditions. We spent years refining fabrics, foam construction and modular engineering to create products that combine Scandinavian minimalism with practical everyday use.

Our ambition has always been simple: outdoor furniture that looks elegant in a design magazine but performs just as well after years outside. That balance is what defines TroisPommes Home.

Many young designers dream of achieving international recognition. Looking back on your own journey, what is the one piece of advice you wish someone had given you when you were just starting out?

Success almost always takes longer than you expect. We live in a world where social media often makes success look instant, but behind every "overnight success" are usually years of learning, mistakes and persistence. Our advice would be to find a problem you genuinely care about solving, commit to it wholeheartedly and enjoy the process of improving every single day. Recognition follows great work — not the other way around.

Imagine you could send a message to your younger self on the day TroisPommes was founded. What would you say — and what would your younger self probably find impossible to believe?

We would probably say: "Be patient. Keep building. Focus on your own journey and don't compare your chapter one to someone else's chapter twenty." Your biggest breakthroughs will come after the moments when you feel like giving up. And if we had told our younger selves that one day we'd win two iF DESIGN AWARDS, be named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list and see our products recognized internationally, we honestly don't think we would have believed it.

What's next for TroisPommes? After winning international design awards and being recognized by Forbes, what ambitions or challenges are you most excited about pursuing in the years ahead?

Winning awards has never been the finish line. Our ambition is to establish TroisPommes Home as a globally recognized outdoor furniture brand. Over the coming years, we're focused on expanding into new international markets, including the United States and Australia, while continuing to develop products that combine Scandinavian design, innovation and long-lasting quality.

Alongside www.TroisPommesHome.com, we've also launched www.oOto.group, short for "Out of the Ordinary" a brand group where we partner with founders, creators and entrepreneurs to build remarkable e-commerce brands together.

For us, the future is about continuing to design better products, build stronger brands and hopefully inspire more entrepreneurs to think differently.