New kids on the block – why IWA is a growth accelerator for newcomers?

When you are a start-up or a young company, growth is one of the main objectives you strive for. Of course, you must make sure you achieve this in a sustainable way, but when you have spent months, if not years, coming up with an amazing product that solves a problem for shooters, you want the world to know about it. But just how do you go about spreading your message?

Written by David Guest

Exhibitors presenting cutting and outdoor products to a visitor at a stand in the IWA OutdoorClassics Newcomer Area

There are countless marketing channels available to you in the modern world, but when you start to scratch below the surface, it’s one of the more ‘old school’ methods that often brings the best results: presenting your products at a trade show. Meeting professionals and letting them see, touch, hold, and size up your product for themselves is an unmatched way of gaining real traction and telling your brand’s story how it’s meant to be told.

This is what IWA OutdoorClassics is based upon. And, because not every company has the budget to take a huge stand and hundreds of staff to a trade show, it offers start-ups, young companies, or brands approaching the shooting market for the first time the chance to be there via its Newcomer Area. The success stories from this unique part of the show really tell their own tales. It’s a small hub of innovation, excitement, and possibilities at IWA that should not be missed.

Getting off on the right foot

As a start-up company, with your main target market being the hunting and shooting industry, it’s almost crazy not to consider making your debut at IWA OutdoorClassics. Slovakian brand Archnes knew it had to make its official unveiling to the industry at IWA, after working on the research and development of its premium design gun cabinets for almost two years.

The team of Archnes stand besides one of their custom gun cabinets at IWA OutdoorClassics — Archnes spent two years of research and development on its product range before exhibiting at IWA.

“Being here at the show is the first time we are on the market with our product; it’s quite exciting,” said Adam Kasanicky, CEO of Archnes.

“We identified IWA as the best place for our launch, and so far, people have been very impressed with our product. We have been really happy with the traffic to our booth here in the Newcomer Area.

“We wanted to develop a safe and secure gun safe that looked like a well-designed piece of furniture. We couldn’t see anything that looked like it on the market, so we went to work. Our Elite cabinet is what we chose to show here. The patent-pending design looks like a regular piece of furniture but has a European-certified gun cabinet at the rear that you access via a remote control.”

This concept is one that is relatively simple to explain, but to see it up close and personal – to touch and feel it, to see how well-made and how nicely designed it is, is something that is only possible at a show.

Products you have to experience

Another company with a product that benefits massively from being able to be touched and felt is Battle Gnome Solutions. This Slovenian firm first began in 2014, making uniquely designed gun holsters out of Kydex – at the beginning, it was just for the personal use of two shooting-mad brothers.

By 2018, they had started using CNC machining to make the holsters more precisely, because demand was growing for their products, which enabled shooters to have secure holds of their guns but fast access when required. Traction started happening with retailers, and the sales chain began expanding – attending IWA was a natural evolution in this growth, so said the company’s Nejc Kozamernik.

“Exhibiting at IWA has been very far above our expectations,” Nejc explained. “Our booth is maybe a bit eye-catching because we have some special products here, like Luger holsters, Desert Trigger holders, and MP5 holsters.

“Right now, we are only focused on B2B sales, so this show is perfect for us in terms of marketing and making contacts. We are basically one of the few companies making stuff like this in Europe – all of our development and production is in-house, we are really proud of that. When people speak to us and find that out, they are impressed. We want to continue to grow in Europe and all over the world.”

Two members of the Battle Gnome Solutions team holding their Kytex gun holsters — Battle Gnome Solutions used some striking product ranges to ensure they stood out at the show.

Building a brand

Being a start-up is not easy, and certainly not for the faint-hearted. It’s an uphill battle to get your products noticed, build sustainable sales networks with distributors and retailers, and create demand from end users. But there are small wins along the way as you start to build your brand – and for the shooting and hunting industry, one of those wins is to receive live feedback from the trade at IWA.

The team of MFT holding some of their stainless steel surpressors at IWA OutdoorClassics — MFT’s four-year journey as a start-up company took a big step by exhibiting at IWA this year.

“Being at IWA has been a valuable step for us in our business journey,” explained Tomaz Lileg of innovative Slovenian suppressor manufacturer MFT Suppressors. MFT stands for multi-flow technology, and its stainless steel suppressors feature two cores that can be adjusted for different levels of compression and different gas flows.

“When you start a new company, the first year is the worst – you’re just trying to survive. Then in the second year, you have to try and kick on. In the third year, you notice something starts to happen. We are now in our fourth year, and people are really starting to notice our products, especially here at the show.”

Heating up the market

For some companies, exhibiting at IWA for the first time doesn’t come right at the beginning of their journeys. Sometimes, companies have already enjoyed success in other industries before using IWA as the platform to enter the hunting and shooting sectors. One great example of that is heat it.

This Karlsruhe, Germany-based brand has created a super compact medical product that can be used to treat insect bites with heat, utilising power from your smartphone. It has already sold more than a million products worldwide, but never directly targeted the hunting industry, one where insect bites can certainly be a problem for its participants.

“We’re at IWA because we see it has a worldwide audience and already sell into some adjacent markets like camping or fishing,” explains heat it’s International Sales and Business Development Manager, Joep van den Heuvel.

“People seem to love our product because it’s so small and easy to take with them. You control the device with an app and power it with your smartphone. It is a certified medical device and uses a hyperthermic treatment to reduce itching and swelling around an insect bite.

“We believe hunters have a need for this product, and so far, we have had some interesting meetings with many new retail partners who want to sell our heat it product through their stores. We can also make it with custom logos on it, which has been interesting to several visitors. It has been a good experience for us.”

The team of heat it holding their product at IWA OutdoorClassics — German brand heat it enjoyed many interesting conversations in the Newcomer Area.

Return of the newcomers

Of course, it’s easy for new exhibitors to get swept up in the excitement of being at IWA for the very first time. But once the dust has settled on the week and you have followed up with all the leads you made and confirmed some solid business, you may begin to realise just how important it was. This should not be a one-time thing.

A company that came to this realisation when it was part of the Newcomer Area at IWA 2025 is Original Löwe. This German blade and cutting tool expert enjoyed a very successful debut at the show and returned in 2026 with its own custom stand in the main halls.

Two members of the Original Lowe team pose on their stand at IWA with some wood cutters — Original Lowe moved in to the main halls of IWA in 2026 after a successful debut in the Newcomer Area in 2025.

“We enjoyed our time in the Newcomer Area last year, but being in the main hall here is better,” explained the company’s Lucas Voss. “We have had many interesting conversations with potential new customers from the UK, the USA, and Italy – they are very interested in us, despite the fact that we are not showing many new products this year.

“Our hunting shears and cutting tools have won a lot of faith with people in this industry – it’s great to be able to show people how well and effectively they cut wood – let them try it for themselves. Overall, we are very happy with our booth and our customers here.”

And this pattern is one that looks like it will repeat itself for many years to come. The proof? We bumped into Newcomer Area exhibitor Zweibrüder in the aisles. Its Managing Director, Tobias Schleder, was on his way to book the German lighting expert a stand for 2027 following a successful debut in the Newcomer Area.

He explained: “The show has been fantastic for us, very tiring because we have been so busy. But the feedback to our products has been more than we expected; we are really happy.”

Are you a start-up or a company looking to get into the hunting and shooting market? Consider exhibiting at the IWA Newcomer Area in 2027 and discover a cost-effective and efficient way to sample this thriving industry.

The team of Zweibrüder standing on their booth at IWA with headlamps on display — Zweibrüder had such an amazing show that they already booked for 2027 before 2026 had even finished.

Author

David Guest

IWA OutdoorClassics