The story of Gloworm Lights started twelve years ago when Bruce Davey began to show interest in the exhilaration of riding at night. Mountain biking was nothing new to him, he had been riding since he was about 10 years old. But night-riding was something fresh and exciting that he wanted to try out.
Mountain biking at night is predominantly done in the Winter season in New Zealand. It gives riders the opportunity to hit the trails after work even when it is dark. Night riding takes the typical adrenaline junkie to the next level, it offers a completely different experience from riding during the day.
At night, a trail you’re used to will completely transform, almost like it is another track. Some compare it to driving a windy road at night versus during the day. The twists and turns in the road come alive in the darkness, and the headlight beams from oncoming traffic give you a sneak peek into what is around the corner.
When Bruce first engaged in the night-riding community, there weren’t any lights on the market suitable for mountain bikes. He used his Kiwi ingenuity to illuminate the track with a halogen bulb strapped to a massive lead acid battery. The only catch was his ride would be limited to however long the battery lasted which was generally about an hour. Fast forward a few years, Bruce finally decided that he’d give this whole business thing a go, and from there Gloworm Lights was born.
The origin of Gloworm Lights & improving the night riding experience
Gloworm Lights exists to make riding accessible at night. “Once I realised that there was a significant need for a product like this, I jumped onto Aliexpress purchased 10 samples, sold nine of them on Trade Me and kept one for myself. If it did well, I thought it could be a bit of a side hustle. To my surprise, my order of 10 shifted to 60, which then multiplied to 200 units and by the end of the year the Gloworm brand was born,” Bruce explains.
By day Bruce was the Manager at YMCA at Ellerslie, and by night he was sticking Gloworm labels on boxes in his mother-in-laws hallway. “I jumped around different manufacturers, trying to source a factory that would allow me to customize the lights. I actually met the now co-owner of Gloworm Lights throughout this process. Vaggelis Monogyios was a salesman for my manufacturer, where he ultimately got let-go for being ‘too ambitious.’ I eventually ended up parting ways with this same company because they sent me 200 units with their brand name laser etched on it and they were unable to rectify it.”
So now, Bruce was without a supplier, but what he did have was a contact in China who was very business focussed. Working together to create their own lights seemed to be a the obvious option. In New Zealand, Bruce commissioned a friend to assist with the engineering and Footprint Designs to do the electronic internals. Over in China, Vaggelis shopped around for the different parts needed and assembled it in his living room. Their first ever light was the X2 which is still a part of the range today.
Now you might be thinking how Bruce managed to trust this driven and enthusiastic Greek that he’d never met. “We both invested $10,000 NZD into Gloworm and it was a bit of a gamble to send this sum of money over to China, but with Vag and I we have this immense amount of confidence and faith within each other and that has remained strong throughout our relationship.”
How the Gloworm Lights brand was built
A decade ago, there weren’t the luxuries of crowdfunding websites to raise capital from communities and so Bruce used a mountain biking forum as a crowdfunding source. “We produced 100 products and sold them dirt-cheap in return for feedback. From there we began to approach media to obtain formal reviews and then it all blossomed. We got our first distributor and then started to expand around the world.” The initial thread posted on MTBR back in 2011 is still number one for that section to this day.
It has been a gradual development of the brand over the years. We’re a true grass-roots business that has been fully funded by Bruce and Vaggelis. “We relied a lot on word of mouth, Trade me advertising, and cold-selling to retail shops in the early stages. We even had a stall at Field Days once, but the farmers weren’t quite our target market,” Bruce laughs.
The new range of lights was launched eighteen months ago, they are a huge step up in terms of technology and product quality. “We’ve utilised fast-charging capabilities, and upgraded from standard round connectors to USB connectors. Our mobile phone app has also been a hit with customers, allowing users to customize their Gloworms through their phone.”
Fast forward to Gloworm Lights today
Gloworm Lights is one of the most well known bike light brands in the world. Vaggelis manages the production whilst Bruce takes care of the sales, marketing and design in New Zealand.
Gloworm’s point of difference is that both Bruce and Vaggelis have full control over the sourcing of materials and manufacturing. This allows them to continue to innovate at a rapid pace. “Unless a light is produced in America, it will be produced in Asia under Eastern management. With Gloworm Lights, our western-managed organisation allows us to produce a much higher quality product.”
We love that we are able to confidently claim that our Gloworm Lights are 100 percent engineered in New Zealand. It was really important for us to collaborate with other small businesses to bring this creation to life. We currently use Beta Solutions in Palmerston North to design our electronics, Triotech designed the app, and our Industrial Designer is based in Wellington. Our packaging (Think Packaging) and graphic design elements (Curious) were designed in Auckland
What’s next for Gloworm Lights – Night Riding Commuters
Looking ahead, Gloworm is keen to tap into the road cycling and commuter market. Whilst our focus has been on mountain bikers in the past, we understand that there is a need for those who have to ride to and from work in the dark. Going forward we will continue to remain steadfast in our vision to provide high-quality, high-performance LED lighting systems that keep people safe in the outdoors.