How Cirkel Supply is redefining winter sports rental

As we make our way into Autumn and thoughts turn to Winter holidays, now seems like an apt time to explore what the intersection of skiing and circularity can look like. We recently sat down with the delightful, insightful Anders Bergenstrand and Anna Smoothy of Cirkel Supply, which elegantly answers a question many of us have:

How do I, as a casual, once a year skier, get exactly the right gear for my needs, with the least friction possible, without having to spend a lot of money, or contend with storing it for the year in between?

The usual answer is renting gear, but that typically involves either obtaining and carrying it with you on the journey to your destination, or needing to contend with the extra time and logistics of picking it up from a sporting goods store that may be quite far from where you're staying. Each of these factors contributes to people choosing otherwise. 

Cirkel's solution? Have it waiting for you, in your hotel room, or in the case of one AirBnB rental, at a Kebab restaurant down the way…but that's a story you can hear about in the episode. :)

Sustainability is not the primary motivator among customers, but it's certainly an outcome that Cirkel aims for. For Anders and Anna, who share a love of the outdoors, both its protection and enjoyment of it, Cirkel offered an opportunity to support both. When resource use and environmental impact can be reduced via something that brings both simplicity and enjoyment to its customers, it’s a win all around. 

The Perfect Product for Rental

What makes Cirkel Supply's approach particularly compelling is how Anders and Anna have identified the ideal characteristics for a successful rental model. As Anders explains, their focus on ski clothing stems from a clear understanding of product suitability: "We rent out items which are very durable, meaning you can rent them out many times. They are expensive and people don't use them often in many cases. So it's a perfect product to be renting out."

This insight represents a more nuanced understanding of when rental makes sense compared to other circular fashion models. Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach, they've recognised that successful rental depends on matching the service to the product's inherent characteristics: durability, cost, and usage frequency.

Anna reinforces this with data-driven validation: "We are serving, by definition, infrequent skiers...they're skiing less than 10 days or so a year. And we understand, looking at the ski industry more broadly, that this is actually most skiers." This customer focus ensures their model serves a genuine need rather than creating artificial demand.

The Power of Strategic Partnerships

One of the most striking aspects of Cirkel Supply's approach is their emphasis on building meaningful partnerships rather than trying to own every aspect of the value chain. Anna describes their philosophy using the Swedish concept of "busig", meaning generous and kind, which has shaped their collaborative approach from day one.

Their partnership strategy operates on multiple levels. With accommodation providers, they've created what Anna calls "a very effective customer funnel" by working with hotels and chalet companies to promote their service during trip planning. This eliminates the friction of discovery while ensuring gear arrives before guests do: literally sitting on the end of their bed upon arrival.

The partnership with ski rental shops represents particularly smart market positioning. As Anna notes: "Ski rental shops are becoming an increasing, kind of high frequency of partnerships for us because they make their money with ski and boot rental... their customers need ski clothing and they don't wanna buy it... but the ski rental stores don't really have the bandwidth in this one store to offer the kind of choice."

This approach creates win-win scenarios where partners can enhance their service offerings without operational complexity, while Cirkel gains access to customers already in a rental mindset.

Technology as an Enabler, Not the End Goal

The evolution of Cirkel's technology approach offers valuable lessons for other circular economy startups. Initially planning to hire a CTO and build custom solutions, they pivoted to a "buy and integrate" strategy after discovering platforms like Supercycle that could address their specific needs.

Anders reflects on this shift: "It just makes you more agile... it frees up cash that we can use to build a business, be it marketing or building out a team, instead of investing into tech." This humble approach to technology, viewing it as an enabler rather than the core differentiator, allowed them to focus resources on their unique value proposition.

Their current setup combines Shopify with Supercycle, stitched together with various no-code tools and custom fulfillment systems. This pragmatic approach demonstrates how smaller companies can leverage the growing ecosystem of circular economy tools rather than reinventing solutions.

The catalytic value of the advisory role of HappyPorch and other specialised providers becomes clear in Anna's reflection: "We spent a lot of time and resources from people who are not (circularity versed) tech people to try and understand which direction to attack the problem in before we've ended up with this pretty amazing network of experts." The key lesson is seeking domain expertise early rather than learning everything from scratch.

Matching Service to Product Category

Cirkel's success stems partly from their deep understanding of their product category's specific requirements. Unlike everyday fashion items, ski clothing presents unique considerations that shape their entire service model.

The seasonal nature creates both challenges and opportunities. While revenue is concentrated in winter months, the off-season provides dedicated time for business development and strategic planning. As Anna explains: "Through the summer months and the off season, we have a chance as a small team to really focus on moving the business forward in terms of partnerships, tech development."

Their attention to logistics reflects the high-stakes nature of ski holidays. When Anna notes that customers "have probably invested thousands in their holiday. And the last piece of the puzzle is the clothing they need to dress in to go skiing. So if it's not there, it's not just the cost of the ski clothing rental, it's like the cost of the holiday," it underscores why reliability trumps almost every other consideration.

This has led to innovative solutions like partnering with delivery services that use train transportation between hubs and EVs for last-mile delivery, minimising environmental impact while ensuring dependability. 

Convenience Over Sustainability as the Primary Driver

While environmental benefits are built into Cirkel's model, Anders and Anna are refreshingly honest about customer motivations. "The harsh realities of talking about sustainability doesn't really change consumer behaviors," Anders acknowledges. "Most of our customers use ourselves because of the convenience factor."

This insight has shaped their entire value proposition. Rather than leading with environmental messaging, they focus on solving practical problems: avoiding luggage space, eliminating storage needs, accessing premium brands without full purchase costs, and ensuring perfect fit and sizing.

Anna's lifecycle assessment work validated the environmental benefits, serving more people with fewer products while optimising delivery methods, but this operates as a positive outcome rather than the primary selling point. This approach may be more sustainable in building long-term customer relationships than relying solely on environmental consciousness.

Looking Forward: Scaling Smart

Cirkel's expansion plans reflect their systematic approach to growth. Rather than rapidly scaling across markets, they're following their customer base: international travelers who ski in multiple destinations. This customer-led expansion strategy ensures they're building where demand already exists.

Their vision encompasses the 75 million global infrequent skiers Anders identifies, representing both significant business opportunity and environmental impact potential. But their measured approach to reaching this market suggests they understand that sustainable growth requires the same careful attention to partnerships, logistics, and customer experience that has driven their initial success.

As the circular economy continues to mature, Cirkel Supply's model offers valuable lessons: match your service to your product's characteristics, prioritise convenience and reliability, build partnerships rather than trying to own everything, and use technology pragmatically to enable your core mission. Most importantly, their success demonstrates that circular business models work best when they solve real customer problems first, with environmental benefits flowing naturally from that foundation.

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Want to go deeper? We invite you to take in the full episode, both in audio and written form, along with all associated links, here. Beyond that, we are always here to support your circular ambitions, with a nuanced, long term approach to technology inclusion. Learn more about our services here.