4 trends we saw at boot Düsseldorf

Autonomy of colour and subtle finishes
A trend that has been around for a little while has been colour matching, offering consumers almost full autonomy over the product's colours. We saw third-party companies custom colour-matching SEABOB products to showcase alongside other boat brands that matched the boat's hull.

Another colour-related insight that seemed popular at Boot was the subtle, mono-tone color. There seems to be a strong divide between the finish, either the classic shine or a more modern and cool-looking matt finish. Rand boats stood out for us, mirroring this minimal design aesthetic, putting detail into a subtle form seen on the ‘indent’ on the outer edges of their boats.

Material choices
A big area of potential innovation can be seen through the material choices and combinations that are being pushed. Moving away from the classic GRP to mono materials, such as aluminum hulls, cork flooring, and designing in modularity.

X-shore: Sustainability is integral to X-shore alongside innovation and craftsmanship. From Cork flooring to styrer-free hulls material choice has been given huge consideration.

Flite scooter: with a cross of materials such as: Fibre glass, Aluminium and Carbon fiber, along with a minimal and clean-lined design the Filetscooters seem to be key leaders in this, offering colours that complement the materials in use, alongside colours that sit naturally in the sea.

The electric push
Like the movement in cars shifting across to electric batteries, we are seeing this becoming more present in the boating industry and more present in this year's boot show. With Europe making the biggest change to electric boats, at a projected average annual growth rate of 12.7 % up-to 2028. No engine noise also lends to a fully immersive boating experience, alongside a huge environmental benefit to marine life!

However, talking to a few different electric motor suppliers at Boot we saw a common theme of trust in the boat's continual performance being the biggest factor that often stops people moving across to this electric world – a notable concern for sure!

A crossover of RV & boating
While exhibiting ATMOS, one of our most popular products, we had a lot of younger customers coming to the stand who were using boot for RV equipment inspiration. This cross-over of sailing and RV products isn't a new trend, instead, we've noticed it's a growing trend. As marine products are designed for the harshest of environments, the cross-over of use is an easy transition.

Final thoughts
Colour matching and full autonomy of personalisation are being pushed as a new selling point and could help pull in a younger crowd to the market, especially for older style boat brands wanting to reconnect with a younger generation. Sustainability and subtle colour palettes with a clean and minimal design are seemingly going hand in hand. These products offer additional benefits, such as quiet engines, and re-use product loops (offering a cascade circular economy model) which are not typically seen in older-style boat business models.

So, from these thoughts and reflections, we wonder what the next innovation or game-changer in the boating industry will be?