Why our quality bikinis don't break the bank

High-quality products at an affordable price? Not a far-fetched dream!

Pink Sands Haikini

I began Haikini out of a desire to make beautiful, functional, and quality swimwear accessible in Singapore. As someone who practically lives in bikinis, I encountered three main problems in my search for the perfect bikini (that I’m sure most girls have faced too):

1. Most bikinis on the market are not functional enough for water activitiesOcean Therapy Haikini
   
   It’s extremely difficult to find functional bikinis that are still stylish and stay on—be it during surfing, cliff jumping, snorkeling or anything else. My bikini tops and bottoms were always falling off after every wave. Instead of focusing on having fun, most of the time I was adjusting my bikini, hoping that I wouldn’t lose it.
   
   
2. I found it challenging to find bikinis that fit properly
   Paddle & Pop Haikini
   
   Most of the time, you’re just buying the wrong bikinis. Since my bust is on the smaller side, I find it hard to rock a traditional triangle, bandeau or wired cup bikini because all of these styles make me look flat. On the other hand, my friends who are more well-endowed complain of not having adequate support.
   
   
3. The brands that I liked were all quite expensive (>S$100)
   This resulted, ironically, in me being reluctant to use their products out of a fear of ruining the bikinis by constantly exposing them to harsh elements: sun, sand, and sea.

My goal with Haikini is to fix all three problems, delivering high-quality products at an affordable price.

And before you say something… no, it’s not too good to be true.

Cutting out the middleman

In our production process, we try to eliminate as many middlemen as we can. Getting a middleman might be convenient, but it significantly drives up production cost.

Before contracting with Haikini’s current production house, one production agent (middleman 1) quoted me whopping S$40++ to produce one bikini set. This meant that I’d have to sell a set at $80-$120 to be able to sustain the business. Production agents are people who talk to manufacturers for you and take a rather high commission fee in exchange.

I decided it wasn’t worth the added cost and began liasing with the production house myself. Luckily, one production house in Bali believed in us and took us in! We were able to reduce our production costs by a bit without compromising on quality.

Some brand owners may also decide to outsource their design process, contracting professional designers (middleman 2) to design the styles and prints for them.

Sun Flower Haikini & Paddle & Pop Haikini

We do not contract external designers. Instead, all of the styles and prints are designed in-house. We also collaborate with local artists for new prints- if you are a local artist who wants to see your work on a Haikini canvas,please send us an email (hai@haikini.co)!

Fabric suppliers (middleman 3) also tend to drive up production costs. These are organisations that gather fabric directly from manufacturers, put them in a showroom/ collection and sell them at a profit.

That being said, middlemen, themselves aren’t always bad—they exist to make operations more efficient as it outsources a large part of the production chain to third parties. However, the major downside would be that finished products tend to be on the expensive side as engaging middlemen drives up the cost price of a product.

A lean production process

We try to keep our business as lean as possible so you’re not spending unnecessarily. That’s also why we don’t host 50% off sales unless we have stock from previous production batches to clear.

The Haikini team works hard to create bikinis that look amazing, lasts, and won’t break the bank so you can save more money for your summer surf trips!

What you are paying for

The price that you pay impacts every step of the process. We are not fast fashion- everything is carefully designed and tested, over and over again, to ensure that you get a bikini that you are proud of owning and wearing.

Follow our Instagram, we regularly post about the design process of Haikinis

Every Haikini purchased pays for fair wages, enabling our Haikini mamas all the way in Bali to send their children to school, feed their families, and live happily.

So thank you, for supporting our creativity, ethical fashion, as well as our mission to become a global lifestyle brand that ignites the spirit of adventure in every girl, one Haikini at a time.