The Challenge
The founders had product designs, brand colors (matte black + metallic gold), and three target SKUs — dumbbells 2.5–30 kg, bumper plates 10–25 kg, and branded Olympic bars. They needed a pilot run of 150 units each to test retail before committing to a second production run. Chinese minimums made that impossible.
The Solution
We ran the pilot at their requested quantities (150 per SKU), using custom-colored rubber compound for bumper plates, laser-engraved end caps for dumbbells, and branded Olympic bar collars. Color-matching, sample approval, and first production shipped in under 10 weeks total. One 20-ft container via road-to-port, then 6-day sea leg into Jebel Ali.
Results
The first 150-unit batch sold through retail in 9 weeks across two Dubai fitness stores and their direct D2C site. Gulf Gear placed a second production order of 600 units (2 containers) at the 10-week point. The brand is now on its fourth production run 18 months later, with distribution in UAE, Saudi, and Kuwait.
"Without Ankaforce, our pilot-test idea would have been impossible. Every Chinese factory said 'come back when you want 5,000 units per SKU'. Turkey let us start small, test the market, then scale."