Company

How we work

Research first. Specialist partners. People decide.

A small team in Madrid, partners across Europe and around the world, and evidence behind every decision.

Our About page tells the story of Step Balance. This page shows the operating model behind it: how a product gets from an idea to your door, who does what, and how we decide.

The model

Four steps, every product

  1. 01

    Research

    Demand in nine marketplaces, customer reviews in many languages, and the full cost of reaching a customer.

  2. 02

    Specify

    Materials, sizes, packaging and wording, written in Madrid before a sample exists.

  3. 03

    Make

    One specialist manufacturer per product family. Samples are checked against the specification.

  4. 04

    Deliver and learn

    Stock close to customers in Europe. Sales, reviews and returns shape the next order.

Before launch

Research before a product joins the range

A new product starts as five questions. It goes ahead only when all five have a clear answer.

  • Is there real demand?Search demand, category sales and prices in every market we serve, read with leading market research software.
  • What do customers miss?Reviews of the products already on sale, in every language: sizes that do not fit, materials that do not last.
  • Can we describe it honestly?If a product only sells with a medical promise, it is not for us.
  • Do the economics work?Manufacturing, freight, duties, fees and advertising, worked out market by market.
  • Who can make it properly?A manufacturer that specialises in that kind of product and can meet our specification.

Then we sample, test in real use and place a first order sized to learn from, not to fill a warehouse.

White sneakers by a door with a Step Balance insole inside
One specification, from the factory to every listing.
Comfort Every Day insole, the layers from microfibre top to TPU shellMan fitting a thin Step Balance insole into a leather dress shoe
Product truth

One master record per product

Materials, dimensions, weights, sizes, care and the approved wording live in one record. The manufacturer, the box, nine Amazon stores and this website in five languages all work from it, so a size or a material reads the same wherever you find it.

Every page is checked against one list of approved and prohibited wording before it goes live. More in how our products are made.

Partners

A supply chain built on specialists

  1. Specialist manufacturersOne per product family, working to our specification
  2. Freight partnersBring stock to Europe
  3. Reserve stock, MadridHeld by a storage partner
  4. Amazon fulfilmentSpain, Italy and Germany
  5. 9 stores, 17 countriesDelivered by Amazon across Europe

Around that chain, advisers in Spain look after accounting, tax and legal work, tax representatives cover the other countries where we hold stock, and packaging and product compliance are handled country by country. For design, imagery, software and digital services we work with specialist partners from around the world, directed from Madrid.

Lean by design

Measured, then adjusted

Every part of the operation has a clear goal. A change stays when the results support it and is reversed when they do not.

  • Stock by sizePlanned from real sales of each size, not an average.
  • PricesSet from the market and our own costs, reviewed as both move.
  • AdvertisingMeasured against goals for each product in each market.
  • Sizing helpUpdated from returns and customer comments, in our size guides.
Bare feet resting on the Step Balance ReflexRoll wooden foot roller under a desk
AI and people

AI helps. People decide.

AI is built into how we work. It reads demand across nine markets and customer feedback in many languages, checks our content against our claims rules and flags stock and sizing patterns. That lets a small team work at the scale of a much larger one.

It does not make the decisions. Every product, claim, price and page a customer sees is approved by a person on our team in Madrid.

Woman lying on a Step Balance acupressure mat on a wooden floor
Growing one family at a time.

New products go through the same research, specification and sampling steps as the ones we sell today. We add a family only when research shows a clear need and the economics work.

Frequently asked questions

Where are Step Balance products designed and made?

Every product is designed by our team in Madrid. Each of our four product families is made by its own specialist manufacturing partner, working to our specification.

Do you use AI?

Yes, for research, reading customer feedback in many languages, checking content against our claims rules and planning stock. A person on our team approves every product, price and page a customer sees.

How do you decide which products to add?

We check demand in each marketplace, what customers miss in existing products, whether the product can be described honestly, the full economics and who can make it properly. Only then do we sample and place a first order.

Still have a question?

Our team in Madrid replies within two business days, in five languages.

Contact usVisit the Guides