How the Right Insoles Can Streamline Footwear Development

by | Feb 28, 2023 | Product Design

Stick to Tight Development Timelines and Elevate the Quality of Your Footwear

Being on time and on budget are critical components of footwear development, but can sometimes come at the expense of standardizing the insole rather than including a more custom design.

Most insoles are designed flat in an attempt to accommodate a greater variety of people, and this insole option also has the allure of making the footwear development process faster and more affordable.

However, insoles can be more customized and deliver a better experience for wearers without slowing down your development timeline.

In fact, we would argue that selecting a more customized, ergonomic, and even sustainable insole that also delivers out-of-the-box comfort, performance, and support actually helps streamline the footwear development process rather than the other way around.

What is a Custom Insole and How Does it Streamline Footwear Development?

The term “customized” does convey a level of detail and precision that would seem to translate to a slow-down in development. But that scenario isn’t the case when data is driving an insole’s customization.

INSITE insoles apply data from more than 120,000 foot scans and research from extensive biomechanics, impact, and perception testing. We measure data points like plantar pressure, energy return, heel placement, and arch fit to get a complete picture of how the foot moves inside a shoe.

This information results in insoles built for the way people move, delivering a more customized fit that works for the majority of wearers. It’s out-of-the-box comfort, performance, and support, backed by data from the most comprehensive biomechanics research happening in the industry today.

Hopefully you can already see how we do the heavy lifting when it comes to a science- and data-based insole design so you can nearly seamlessly integrate it into your footwear line.

But the customization benefits go a step further.

You can get your hands on a custom, 3D sample insole in as little as 2 weeks – that’s half the industry average. We simply deconstruct your footwear and take a detailed 3D scan of the midsole or last, and use that data to develop and print a 3D prototype of your custom insole.

“You can get your hands on a custom, 3D sample insole in as little as 2 weeks.”

This custom insole combines the contours of your midsole, our patented ergonomic shaping, and the best-fit material.

This process isn’t costly or complicated, so you get a custom insole quickly that you can confidently – and easily – integrate into your development process.

We know that if you can’t get an insole into your footwear line on time and on budget, it doesn’t matter how great the insole is. Tight development timelines are a known challenge, making it all the more important that you be able to elevate your footwear line without setting development back.

Going to Market with a Better Footwear Product

The point of tight product development timelines is being competitive and delivering what customers want quickly. But if the footwear isn’t comfortable or fails to deliver an enjoyable experience, that speed to market can backfire on a brand very quickly.

That’s why we’ve worked hard to make a custom, ergonomic insole readily available for brands to add to their footwear lineup. We’re combining critical data to produce an insole that delivers a comfortable experience for nearly any customer.

People typically turn to aftermarket insoles for three top reasons: to ease foot pain, for added comfort, and for better arch support. Instead of essentially sending your customers to the store to purchase aftermarket insoles, why not provide a better insole in your footwear and capture the aftermarket purchase in your own product pricing?

Plus, better customer experiences translate to greater success for your brand. Customer loyalty, brand equity…it all increases when you provide exceptional footwear out of the box.

Custom insoles built on a patented shape algorithm coupled with dozens of data points from testing research are a slam dunk for your footwear line.

You don’t have to take extra time or incur a large expenditure to provide a better insole. Integrate INSITE insoles into your footwear line easily and quickly, sticking to tight development timelines and launching better footwear products.

Take advantage of our efficient and fast sampling process.

Insole Insights