The idea for a product can come from several sources: a suggestion from a customer shared with our customer service or in-store team, a need or idea from someone on our team, or even an inspiration spotted in the street...

Once the idea is formulated, we write a "brief," a sort of list of all the essential features the product must have. Often, the wish lists are long, so we try to prioritize what’s absolutely necessary versus what’s a bit less critical... It’s not easy!

Then, our design team gets to work: sketches, 2D or 3D drawings, prototype models, real-life tests... They often work on several different designs before settling on the direction to focus on.

Once the design choice is made, it’s time to transform the drawing into a complete technical sheet to share with our supplier. Based on the provided information, they will create a prototype, and after several back-and-forths and adjustments with our internal team, the prototype is turned into the final product. There’s always a lot of excitement in the office when we receive the first prototypes: seeing our ideas come to life is pretty amazing!

The work doesn’t stop there. Once we’ve received satisfactory prototypes, it’s time for testing. By who? Well, by you! After a call for volunteers, we select customers to test our new products ahead of the official launch and provide us with as much feedback as possible. Your opinions mean a lot to us, so if something doesn’t feel right about the product, we adjust and modify it.

Once the prototype is validated, it’s sent to the lab for a full range of quality tests. All prototypes developed by CABAIA are tested by an independent laboratory to ensure they meet our high standards of quality. Abrasion of the faux leather, accelerated aging of straps and handles, color fastness to rubbing, water resistance, tear resistance of fabrics...

Our backpacks are inspected inside and out, and we only approve prototypes that meet 100% of our stringent specifications. We don’t overlook anything!