Mr. Gronert, in building your global e-commerce brand, you rely heavily on performance marketing and affiliate partnerships. Based on your experience, what has worked particularly well, and where do you see the limitations of this approach?
Performance marketing is the most honest discipline in e-commerce. Every euro spent is measurable, every campaign gives you a clear answer: either it works, or it doesn't. Since 2019, we have built baaboo primarily through paid channels and a strong affiliate network – Meta, Google, native advertising – and generated more than two hundred million euros in revenue along the way. Affiliates are far more than a sales channel. They are entrepreneurs who know their own audience and put their reputation on the line for a product. That only works if the product delivers on its promise.
The biggest risk is becoming dependent. If you rely exclusively onpaid traffic , you are building your house on someone else's land. Rising advertising costs and algorithm changes can transform a business model overnight. That is why we invest consistently in our own channels – email, direct messaging, community. Performance marketing wins you the customer. The relationship wins them back a second, third, and tenth time.
Global supply chains are under pressure. A company like yours depends on them. How do you secure production and delivery?
By making a deliberate decision years ago: One hundred percent of our production is based in Europe – for example, we produce in Germany, Poland, and Bulgaria. Our logistics operation is based in the Netherlands, right next to the port. That makes us fast and flexible, because transport routes within Europe are exceptionally reliable. The political disruptions which are currently straining many supply chains simply do not affect us.
It hasn’t always been like this. Back when we still imported from China, our containers were sometimes stuck for weeks – for example during COVID the Suez Canal blockage. Experiences like that will shape you. They taught us that reliable delivery isn't just another cost. It is part of the brand.
The second factor is less visible, but at least as important as the first: partnership. We maintain long-standing relationships with our contract manufacturers. We know each other, we trust each other, we rely on each other. In the end, a supply chain is not a chain of contracts. It is a chain of relationships. Relationships are far more resilient than contracts.
Dubai is an important location for your company – and you yourself operate from there as Chairman of baaboo Europe. Some have voiced doubts about the location. What is your opinion on Dubai?
We chose Dubai for two reasons – one personal, and one strategic. The personal one: I have lived in Dubai privately since 2019, and I genuinely appreciate the atmosphere and the motivation of the people here. It is a little different from Europe. You can feel a drive to build things – and it's contagious.
The strategic one: Our company is preparing for global expansion in the coming years. We want to distribute our products not only in Europe but worldwide – with a much stronger focus on entertainment. That is why, a little over three years ago, we founded a service office in Dubai – baaboo Media – which supports this expansion from here. For international growth, we increasingly need English-speaking employees, and here we find them immediately. Although Dubai may be part of a small country, the talent pool is remarkable.
And yes, there is a third point I will address openly: The increasingly complicated bureaucratic decisions within the EU create real headaches and hurdles for many entrepreneurs – GDPR is just one example. If you want to build a company fast, you fail in Europe far too often in ways that have nothing to do with the actual business.
Artificial intelligence is entering many industries. How does it help your company?
We don't see AI as a future topic. We treat it as a tool for daily business. The most visible example is our customer support: 80 to 90 percent of our customer communication now runs through AI – repetitive customer interactions, routine checks, mindless process work. And the result surprises many people: It is actually more customer-friendly than before. AI has no moods. It never has a bad day, it is never tired, and it tends to respond more politely instead of replying short and curt. Customers feel well taken care of at all times – around the clock. Nobody has to wait overnight until an agent is available the next morning.
Behind this stands a clear principle: Our executives are expected to automate every repetitive process where AI adds value. The goal is not to integrate AI at any cost. The goal is to integrate AI sensibly. For that, we have an internal developer team that supports our leaders in doing exactly that.
And one thing many underestimate: prototyping. Ideas that used to require a development team and three months, we now test within days. The cost of experimentation is approaching zero – and that fundamentally changes entrepreneurial thinking.
The one thing AI does not replace is judgment. The machine delivers options; the entrepreneur makes decisions. Anyone who treats AI as a substitute for strategy becomes interchangeable. Anyone who uses it to move faster wins.
Are there trends in your industry right now that many are overlooking?
There is definitely TikTok. I am convinced that TikTok will play a very big role in e-commerce – the integration of TikTok Shop, combined with entertainment and gamification. Those are the trends many still don't see.
The reason behind this is a simple observation: Customers don't just want to buy. They want to discover products with fun. Shopping online should entertain, especially in the product segment we operate in. The classic online shop answers a search query. The future of e-commerce sparks the joy of discovery.
That is exactly why we are aligning our global expansion around combining products with entertainment. If all you optimize today is your shopping cart, you are optimizing for the past. If you build shopping experiences that entertain, you will win the customers of tomorrow.
About our interview partner:
Irek Gronert is a serial entrepreneur operating at the intersection of e-commerce, media, and entertainment. He is the founder and Chairman of baaboo Europe, an e-commerce company founded in 2019 that produces one hundred percent within Europe, and CEO of baaboo Media in Dubai. He operates between Dubai, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
