Innovation Norway: training and visits to architecture practices where Norwegian interior brands put their market entry to the test

Norwegian interior and furniture brands face a shared challenge: the German market is attractive but complex. Alongside a suitable product portfolio, entering it takes an understanding of the target group on the ground. In the German project business, architects and interior architects have a major say in which products are chosen. Knowing their requirements, ways of working and decision paths is therefore a prerequisite for market entry.

Innovation Norway brought in hej.build as a partner to prepare the participating companies for this step.

Building a shared understanding

We started by getting to know each other and taking stock: where do the participating companies stand? Which target groups are they focusing on? Which strategic questions are still open? From this, we derived the priorities and how we would work together.

Target group deep dive »How to Engage German Architects«

A remote training session covered the specifics of the German architecture scene, geared to the Norwegian interior and furniture industry: how is the German project business structured? How do architects and interior architects work? Which topics, formats and ways of approaching them get a response? Beforehand, we had asked our Architecture Advisory Board what image architects in Germany associate with Norwegian design.

Market visits to German architecture and interior architecture practices

In the third step, we worked with the companies to develop materials, conversation guides and strategies and tested them directly in practice: on visits to selected architecture and interior architecture practices in Hamburg and Berlin. The meetings were not about selling but about open exchange and honest feedback. What do design practices expect from manufacturers? What do they require of products, documentation and communication? The findings fed directly into the companies’ market entry plans.

The participating companies gained a realistic, accurate picture of the project business and the architecture scene in Germany. Together, the training, individual coaching and market visits form a solid foundation for market entry, with insights that translate directly into strategy and communication.

Innovation Norway then commissioned us again: for the Norwegian joint stand at »Design Nation« in Düsseldorf, with individual coaching for the exhibiting manufacturers and a campaign on Google Search and LinkedIn.

1. Target group training (remote): individually prepared training on structures, decision paths and communication in the German architecture market and project business.
2. Strategic coaching: materials, conversation skills and positioning for the German market.
3. Market Intelligence Visits: visits to architecture and interior architecture practices in Hamburg and Berlin for direct insight into the target group.
4. Market entry preparation: structured findings and recommendations for the companies’ further market entry plans.

Innovation Norway is Norway’s state-owned agency for internationalisation and export promotion. Through trade missions, export programmes and networks, it helps Norwegian companies enter new markets and grow internationally.