How Has OverBoard Built a Business Around Keeping Things Dry?
Introduction
Sometimes the strongest business propositions are also the easiest to explain.
Keep your stuff dry.
That is essentially the problem OverBoard has built its business around. From waterproof phone cases and dry bags to backpacks, duffels and specialist equipment for boating and paddlesports, OverBoard has developed a focused range around protecting the things people take with them.
At Blueringed Consultants, we’re interested in businesses that turn a straightforward customer problem into a broader commercial proposition.
So, what can we learn from OverBoard?
From a Problem to a Product Ecosystem
One of the first things that stands out about OverBoard is the clarity of the underlying customer need.
Water and valuable belongings generally don’t mix.
A paddleboarder wants to protect a phone. A commuter needs to keep a laptop and clothing dry. A sailor has equipment exposed to spray. A traveller wants belongings protected from the elements.
Different customers. Different circumstances.
But fundamentally, the same problem.
OverBoard has expanded around that problem rather than restricting itself to a single product.
Its current UK range includes waterproof:
- Phone and tablet cases
- Dry bags
- Backpacks
- Duffel bags
- Kayak and SUP bags
- Panniers
- Waist packs
- Camera bags
- Cooler bags
- Map cases
From a business perspective, that’s interesting.
Instead of asking “What else can we sell?”, the more powerful question can be:
“What other problems does our existing customer have that we are well positioned to solve?”
That’s how a product can start becoming an ecosystem.
Selling by Activity, Not Just Product
OverBoard’s website also provides another useful lesson.
Customers can browse by product, but they can also discover products according to what they’re actually planning to do.
OverBoard currently organises products around activities including boating, paddlesports, outdoors, commuting, camping, cycling and travel.
That’s a subtle but important distinction.
Customers don’t necessarily wake up thinking:
“I need a 20-litre waterproof bag.”
They’re more likely to think:
“I’m going paddleboarding this weekend. How do I keep my phone, keys and clothes dry?”
The second question is about an outcome.
Businesses that understand this can structure their customer journey around the problem being solved rather than expecting customers to understand the product catalogue.
It’s a principle that applies well beyond retail.
Customers usually buy outcomes, not internal product categories.
Trust Matters When the Product Has One Job
There’s another challenge with waterproof products.
They have to work.
If a waterproof bag doesn’t keep something dry, the customer doesn’t simply have a disappointing bag. They may have a damaged phone, wet clothing or ruined equipment.
That makes trust an important part of the proposition.
OverBoard supports this through information about waterproof ratings, product testing and product comparisons. The UK site also currently promotes free returns within 30 days and a five-year extended warranty.
These aren’t simply administrative details.
They’re part of reducing the customer’s perceived risk.
When a customer is deciding whether to trust a product with something valuable, information that explains how it works, what level of protection it provides and what support exists afterwards can become part of the sales process.
For other businesses, the lesson is worth considering:
Where does your customer perceive risk — and what are you doing to remove it?
A Clear Niche Can Support a Broad Range
There’s an interesting apparent contradiction in OverBoard’s model.
The product range is broad, but the proposition remains narrow.
Backpacks, phone cases, panniers, duffels and cooler bags could easily look like unrelated categories.
Waterproofing connects them.
That gives the business room to expand without completely losing the reason customers might recognise the brand in the first place.
For SMEs considering growth, that’s an important distinction.
Diversification doesn’t necessarily mean moving away from your core proposition.
Sometimes growth comes from taking the thing you’re already known for and applying it to more customer situations.
The Customer Journey Doesn’t End at Checkout
OverBoard’s website also gives prominence to practical post-purchase information, including FAQs, delivery information, exchanges and returns, warranty support, waterproof ratings and product testing.
At Blueringed, this interests us because we frequently look at businesses through an Order-to-Cash (O2C) lens.
A sale isn’t simply the moment somebody presses “Buy”.
There’s an entire chain:
Customer interest → product selection → order → payment → fulfilment → delivery → support → repeat purchase
Every stage can either reinforce or weaken the customer relationship.
For an e-commerce business, seemingly operational subjects such as dispatch, delivery, returns and warranty management are therefore part of the customer experience.
They’re also part of the brand.
A great marketing campaign can win the first order.
A great end-to-end process helps win the next one.
What Could Other Businesses Learn from OverBoard?
Looking at OverBoard from a business rather than purely a product perspective highlights several useful principles.
1. Start with a clearly understood problem.
Customers should be able to understand why your business exists.
2. Expand around customer needs.
A strong core proposition can often support several adjacent products or services.
3. Organise around the customer’s world.
Customers think about what they’re trying to accomplish, not necessarily how your organisation categorises its products.
4. Reduce the perceived risk of buying.
Testing, specifications, warranties, returns and clear information can all help customers make decisions confidently.
5. Remember that operations are part of marketing.
The experience after someone places an order influences what they think about the brand — and whether they return.
6. Stay recognisable as you grow.
A broader range doesn’t have to mean a diluted proposition. Expansion is often strongest when every new offering can still be traced back to the original customer problem.
From Keeping Products Dry to Keeping Businesses Focused
There is something appealing about a business whose proposition can be expressed so simply.
OverBoard describes its heritage with the line “Keeping it Dry – Since 2006.”
Behind that simple statement sits a much wider commercial model: multiple product categories, multiple customer activities, e-commerce fulfilment, product education, warranties, returns and international markets.
That’s often the reality of growing a business.
The proposition should feel simple to the customer even when the operation behind it isn’t.
For us at Blueringed Consultants, that’s perhaps the most interesting lesson.
Successful businesses don’t necessarily remove complexity.
They manage complexity behind the scenes so that customers don’t have to.
And whether you’re protecting a phone on a paddleboard or trying to improve an Order-to-Cash process, there’s something to be said for keeping the important things protected.
About Blueringed Consultants
Blueringed Consultants works with businesses to identify opportunities, understand processes and improve commercial and operational performance. We take a particular interest in the complete customer journey and the processes that turn an initial opportunity into cash — and, importantly, into a customer who wants to come back.
About OverBoard
OverBoard specialises in waterproof bags and cases for activities including boating, paddlesports, outdoor pursuits, commuting, camping, cycling and travel.
Explore OverBoard: over-board.co.uk