Tahe Outdoors

What Tahe Outdoors does

Tahe Outdoors France, operating from Vannes and a heritage manufacturing site at Merpins (Cognac), designs and produces watersports equipment and industrial plastics components. The company carries two registered brands: TAHE, the continuation of the historic BIC Sport franchise with 40+ years of heritage in windsurf, surf, kayak, SUP, sailing, and wingfoil; and SIC Maui, a premium performance brand originating on Maui, Hawaii, focused on stand-up paddle, foiling, and surf. The Vannes site specializes in thermoforming (single- and twin-sheet, including proprietary PSE/PIOCELAN work), extrusion calendering and blow molding, while the Cognac site handles injection molding (100- to 480-ton presses with robotized lines), assembly, and the production of paddles and personal flotation devices. Annual production capacity at Cognac is approximately 300,000 pieces across fibrylon, polypropylene, aluminum, and carbon-fiber paddles plus accessories.

The business model is primarily hardware sales of branded watersports equipment, sold direct-to-consumer through tahesport.com and sicmaui.com and distributed across more than 90 countries, with employees based in France, the United States, and Australia. A secondary B2B industrial-services revenue stream leverages the same plastic-processing footprint to serve external partners requiring thermoforming, injection, and extrusion work. Sustainability is built into the product roadmap via the STELLAR fin range made from 100% recycled fishing nets, manufactured in a short-circuit French supply chain. Two disclosed institutional rounds (Enterprise Investors in 2014, BPM Capital in 2017) back the platform, and CEO Janek Pohla is co-owner; no parent company or external acquirer has been identified in the source material.

Name

Tahe Outdoors

Website

https://taheoutdoors.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Tahe Outdoors France manufactures and distributes watersports equipment through its TAHE and SIC Maui brands across 90+ countries. The company designs paddles, boards, and accessories for six water sports and offers industrial plastics manufacturing services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Watersports Equipment Manufacturing

NAICS

Sporting and Athletic Goods Manufacturing (33992)

akta.pro primary industry

Paddle Sports Retail (Kayak, Canoe, SUP, Paddles) (CRAMAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water Sports & Marine Recreation Gear Distribution (CRAOAJAD), Semi-Custom & Series Production Yacht Manufacturing (IMAJAEAM)

Keywords

• Watersports equipment manufacturing
• Stand up paddle boards
• Plastic thermoforming services
• Kayak paddles and accessories
• Recycled fishing net fins

Headquarters

HQ city

Viimsi

HQ country

Estonia

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Watersports Equipment Sales: Tahe Outdoors generates revenue through the design, manufacturing, and sale of watersports equipment including paddles, boards, accessories, and personal flotation devices under the TAHE and SIC Maui brands. Products are sold through direct-to-consumer online stores and retail channels.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Tahe Outdoors designs, manufactures, and distributes watersports equipment under two flagship brands (TAHE® and SIC Maui®) covering six disciplines: stand up paddle, kayak, windsurf, surf, wingfoil, and sailing. Production runs from two specialized sites in Vannes and Cognac (Merpins), France, combining thermoforming, extrusion, PSE molding, injection, and assembly to deliver boards, paddles, accessories, personal flotation devices, and fins. The company also offers contract plastics manufacturing services to industrial partners using the same production tool.

Product overview

Tahe Outdoors France operates as a watersports equipment manufacturer and industrial services provider, organized under two core brands: TAHE® (the heritage brand formerly BIC Sport®, offering equipment across six watersports disciplines) and SIC Maui® (the premium Hawaiian-origin brand focused on Stand Up Paddle, foiling, and surf). The company maintains two production sites in France—Vannes (thermoforming, PSE molding, extrusion) and Cognac (injection, assembly, paddles, accessories)—serving both its own brand portfolio and offering industrial manufacturing services to third parties. Products span boards, paddles, accessories, and buoyancy vests, distributed across more than 90 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TAHE®: Marque historique issue de BIC Sport®, concevoir et fabriquer des produits durables pour les sports nautiques (windsurf, surf, kayak, stand up paddle, voile, wingfoil)
• SIC Maui®

Products and services

• TAHE® Brand Watersports Equipment Flagship watersports brand offering durable equipment across six disciplines (windsurf, surf, stand up paddle, kayak, wingfoil, sailing), manufactured in France and targeted at individual watersports enthusiasts.
• SIC Maui® Premium Performance Equipment

Quantifiable outcome

• 300,000 pieces per year production capacity
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• BIC Sport (Heritage)minorOthersTAHE brand originated from BIC Sport, continuing the 40+ year heritage and legacy of innovation in watersports equipment. BIC Sport was a leader and trendsetter in the surfing and windsurf markets.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Fanatic: German board manufacturer producing windsurf, SUP, foil, surf, and kayaks under the Fanatic brand. Closely comparable to Tahe Outdoors in product breadth, premium European positioning, and global multi-discipline watersports distribution.
• Naish: Hawaiian-origin brand designing and manufacturing SUP, windsurf, wingfoil, and surf foiling equipment globally. Direct competitor to SIC Maui within premium performance categories and to the broader TAHE portfolio across the same six watersports disciplines.
• Starboard: Thailand-headquartered manufacturer of stand-up paddle boards, windsurf boards, and foiling equipment under the Starboard brand. Direct peer to Tahe Outdoors across SUP, windsurf, surf, and wingfoil categories with similar OEM-built, multi-sport product strategy and global distribution.
• Red Paddle Co: UK-headquartered specialist in inflatable SUP boards and accessories, distributed globally primarily through DTC. Comparable to Tahe Outdoors in the SUP category and as a digitally-led brand competing for premium paddle sports consumer spend.
• NSP (Nippon Surfing Products): Thailand-based manufacturer of surf, SUP, and foil boards sold globally under the NSP brand. Direct competitor to Tahe Outdoors in mid-range molded/composite paddle boards, especially in rental and schools channels.
• Surftech: US manufacturer of surfboards, SUP, and paddle craft with proprietary composite construction (Tuflite, ECO). Direct peer to Tahe Outdoors in molded/composite board manufacturing for surf, SUP, and paddle sports categories.
• JP Australia / Neil Pryde: Neil Pryde Sailing distributes JP Australia windsurf, SUP, and foil boards, plus Maui Ultra Fins. Direct peer in windsurf and foiling boards with comparable premium positioning, European manufacturing heritage, and global athlete-driven marketing.
• Mistral: Heritage European watersports brand (originally Dutch, now globally distributed) producing SUP, windsurf, and surf equipment. Comparable to Tahe/TAHE as a long-established European multi-discipline paddle and sail sports label with renewed DTC positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Decathlon (Oxelo & Tribord): Global sporting goods retailer and manufacturer with owned watersports lines (Tribord) covering SUP, kayaks, windsurf, and surfing. Comparable to Tahe Outdoors as a vertically integrated watersports equipment competitor with greater scale, broader distribution, and lower price positioning.
• BIC (Société BIC): French consumer products group that previously owned BIC Sport, the predecessor of Tahe Outdoors. While BIC divested its watersports unit, the parent remains broadly comparable as a French industrial/consumer goods incumbent with heritage in paddle sports categories where Tahe now operates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/taheoutdoor
• Facebookfacebook.com/taheoutdoors
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tahe-outdoors

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tahe Outdoors