Seramikku: How Mads and Ida built a success story with niche e-commerce

Interview: Seramikku

Ida Holm and Mads Taiki Pedersen, the founders of Seramikku, combine Scandinavian minimalism with Japanese tradition. It has taken years of hard work to win the trust of Japanese suppliers, and that same focus on relationships has made pensopay their partner since 2019. Read here how they use ongoing sparring and the right terms to ensure their payments always match their growth and international ambitions.

Seramikku’s success is built on an ideal partnership

Ida is the aesthetic lead, using her design background and sharp eye for artistic expression. Mads, who is half-Japanese and studied at CBS, has built the essential relationships within the Japanese interior industry. This combination ensures the authentic quality of their products and makes their brand a strong, aesthetic success. If Ida and Mads look familiar, they are also known for their participation in the Danish TV show Nybyggerne.

Why the e-commerce route is advantageous

After finishing their studies, Ida and Mads chose to launch their business as a pure webshop. This allowed them to keep startup costs low while maximizing their reach from day one.

"We chose to start with a webshop because it was cheaper and easier in terms of startup costs. It also gave us the opportunity to reach a wider - and international – market without the obligations that come with a physical store," says Mads Pedersen, Seramikku. 

Focus on digital sensory appeal: How to sell physical products online

For an e-commerce business selling design and interior decor, the biggest challenge is conveying quality and a sense of touch digitally. How do you make the customer feel the tactile nature of ceramics or fabric through a screen?

Mads explains that Seramikku solves this by setting high standards for how their products are presented, focusing heavily on unique photography and detailed descriptions:

• Professional photo quality: Seramikku takes their own professional photos in their own aesthetic environment. They avoid standard manufacturer images to differentiate themselves and better communicate the tactile nature of the products.
  
  
• Staging: Products are staged within Seramikku’s own aesthetic universe to highlight details and stand out from the suppliers' standard photos.
  
  
• Detailed product descriptions: Every product is measured for height, width, volume, and capacity. This minimizes uncertainty for the online shopper and reduces return rates.

From e-commerce to two stores in the most charming streets of Aarhus

Even though the webshop was a great success, Seramikku soon reached a natural limit. For a brand centered on quality and tactile experiences, the distance to the customers became a challenge. Mads explains that the demand to touch, see, and combine the products by hand became too strong to ignore.

"The webshop was doing really well, but when you focus exclusively on that, it’s very much one-way communication. We were shipping out a lot of items but didn't get much response back. That’s what drew us - to look customers in the eye, talk to them, get feedback, and help them put items together. We wanted to create a space that functioned primarily as a showroom. The location in the Latin Quarter in Aarhus was perfect, as we wanted to be in the cozy side streets that go hand-in-hand with our unique business and products," says Mads Pedersen, Seramikku.

The physical stores are sustainable in their own right. Their real strength lies in how the two channels mutually drive traffic and sales to one another, supporting Seramikku’s omni-channel strategy:

"We can’t do without either one - neither the webshop nor the store," says Mads Pedersen, Seramikku.

Quality and authenticity: Success requires long-term supplier relationships 

Seramikku ensures its high standards through a unique and time-consuming approach to its Japanese suppliers: building long-term relationships based on trust.

"We could easily buy items that are much more authentically Japanese, but the products also need to have an aesthetic and functional place in the Scandinavian market. Otherwise, we would just be presenting Japanese culture one-to-one," says Mads Pedersen, Seramikku.

In Japanese business culture, it is crucial to build strong, lasting partnerships over time based on respect and trust. Mads emphasizes that getting started takes time, as both parties need to get to know each other over longer periods. Once trust is established, unique opportunities for development arise – for example, Seramikku has developed its own knives and persuaded suppliers to pack items specifically for their e-commerce business. To maintain this close contact, Seramikku regularly visits their Japanese partners.

pensopay: The key to a simple payment solution with Danish support

Mads emphasizes that choosing a payment solution was crucial from day one, as he was looking for security and strong support as a new webshop owner. Mads chose pensopay and has been a customer since they launched their first webshop in 2019.

Mads also adds that the all-in-one solution and ongoing dialogue - including price adjustments as Seramikku’s volume has grown -have been essential in allowing them to focus on their core business.

The future: Expanding in Europe and launching original designs

Even though Seramikku is thriving in its physical stores, future plans focus on intensifying efforts to reach an international audience, especially in Europe (Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands).

"We believe the concept works in many European countries. Right now, people find us randomly on Pinterest or while traveling in Aarhus, but we will primarily focus on our online presence to push into the European market," says Mads.

Additionally, Seramikku dreams of expanding with their own designed and manufactured products - such as notice boards and art prints - to broaden their range and further strengthen the brand.

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Advice to other entrepreneurs: Focus on quality over speed

Mads’ advice to other entrepreneurs is clear: passion and control are more important than speed.

"The most important thing is to find a concept and products you are truly passionate about. Starting from scratch requires extremely hard work, especially in the first few years, and if you aren't passionate, you risk burning out," says Mads Pedersen, Seramikku.

It can be tempting to choose quick fixes. But for Seramikku, it has been vital to move at a pace where they could always ensure quality and control over their products.

"When working with design products, ensuring quality takes time, and rapid expansion can undermine the concept and the passion for the work. That’s why focused, sustainable growth is often the best path - especially if you want to keep the heart in the product," says Mads Pedersen, Seramikku.

Thank you for a great talk, Mads. We are super proud to have you and Seramikku as a partner. 

Best of luck with everything in the future. 

Team pensopay.

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