Services · Custom development

Bespoke shoedevelopment — yourbrief, our workshop.

When the catalogue is not enough: we take your sketches, your fit specs, your target cost — and build the collection from the last up. OEM, ODM, or full ground-up development across 22+ Spanish factories specialising in comfort, barefoot and BIOS anatomic sandals.

14wk
Dev + sampling
3x
Sample rounds incl.
500
First-order MOQ/style
4
Construction methods
Custom shoe development, explained

OEM, ODM and full ground-up development, all in Spain.

Custom development is the OEM/ODM path: you arrive with a product idea and leave with a production-ready collection, developed on a Spanish last, sampled in a Spanish workshop, and shipped with full European documentation. Comfortspain is your development partner across the whole cycle — brief-to-container — with one commercial contact, one calendar and one invoice.

What *counts* as custom

Anything that does not exist in our 600+ model catalogue. New last. New sole unit. New construction method. New fit block for a target market (e.g. German EE-width fit block). Changes to an existing last or sole that require tooling also count.

If your brief is "same last, different upper", that is usually not custom — see Private Label / Tweak. If it is "we want a removable insole system that mirrors [reference brand] but branded to us, with our fit", that is custom.

Construction methods we *cover*

California construction (removable insole, standard comfort). Cemented (lightweight sneakers, summer). Strobel + injection (athletic-adjacent, barefoot). Goodyear welt (premium boots and loafers, Arnedo partners).

We do not do direct-injection PU sandals (mass-market category where Portugal and Turkey win on cost) or vulcanised rubber sneakers (Vietnam territory). We cover the comfort, wellness and orthopaedic adjacencies.

What a *development* partnership looks like

Week 1–2: kick-off. We assign a product developer, review your brief, select the construction method and factory, quote the development cost (typically €2,500–€6,500 per last, refundable against production).

Week 3–6: first-round samples. 2D tech pack → 3D last → cutting → lasting → finishing. You receive confirmation samples by courier for fit, material and aesthetic review.

Week 7–10: adjustments + confirmation. Up to three sample rounds are included. We sit in the workshop with you — physically or on video — for the critical fit review.

Week 11–14: pre-production and PO. Salesman samples for your showroom. Production calendar locked. First orders produced and shipped.

2.5k
Dev cost from
3×
Sample rounds included
14wk
Brief to salesman sample
500
First-order MOQ/style

The four custom categories we run.

We build custom collections in the four categories where Spanish workshops are genuinely world-class. If your brief sits outside these, we will tell you honestly.

01 / Custom sneakers

Private label sneaker manufacturers.

Strobel + cemented comfort sneakers, lifestyle/retro, court and walking. Target FOB €26–€42. Elche and Arnedo partners. Up to 8 size runs, leather or canvas uppers, EVA or rubber soles.

02 / Custom boots

Private label boots & booties.

Goodyear welt and Blake-stitch boots from our Arnedo and La Rioja partners — Chelsea, chukka, hiker-inspired comfort silhouettes. Target FOB €38–€72.

03 / Custom sandals

Private label sandals & BIOS.

BIOS anatomic sandals (cork footbed, removable EVA insole), comfort sandals, flip-flops. Our Elche cluster's strongest category. Target FOB €14–€28.

04 / Custom women's shoes

Private label women's comfort.

Comfort loafers, low-heel pumps, wellness ballerinas. Mallorca and Alicante clusters. Target FOB €22–€48. Wide-fit (EE/EEE) blocks available for German and Scandinavian markets.

Brief to container, step by step.

This is the custom development path. Timeline assumes one construction method, one fit block, up to 8 colourways. Parallel projects can be run together.

Step 1

Brief & kick-off

You share sketches, reference shoes, fit specs and target cost. We match a factory, define the construction method, and quote the development budget (refundable against production).

Step 2

Last development

The factory last-maker produces the 3D last, in-house or with a specialised workshop. We validate against your fit brief and commercial targets. Typical: 3–5 weeks.

Step 3

First samples

Pattern cutting, sole sourcing, first cutting and lasting runs. You receive first confirmation samples at 6–7 weeks from kick-off.

Step 4

Adjustments

Up to three rounds of confirmation samples. Fit tests (we recommend an external fit panel), materials review, finish calibration.

Step 5

Salesman samples

Full salesman-sample run in agreed colourways, sent to your showroom. This is what your sales team sells from. Produced in 3–4 weeks once samples are locked.

Step 6

Production

First production orders placed against the confirmed samples. Weekly updates, inline QC at 30/60/100%, ex-works or DDP shipment with full EU documentation.

Custom development FAQ

Questions brands ask before kicking off a custom project.

What is the MOQ for custom-developed shoes?
500 pairs per style for first production, to amortise the last development cost. Reorders drop to 300 per style once the last is live. Total first order: typically 2,000–3,500 pairs across 4–8 models.
How much does custom development cost?
€2,500–€6,500 per last for development, depending on construction complexity. This is refundable against production: once you hit 2,000 paid pairs on that last, the development cost is credited back. Pattern-only tweaks to an existing last cost €400–€900 and are typically non-refundable.
How long is a full custom development cycle?
Brief to first salesman samples: 12–14 weeks. Brief to first production shipment: 20–22 weeks. These are realistic industry averages, not best-case fantasies. If you have a firm retail date, tell us at kick-off so we can staircase sampling against it.
Do you own the last and the patterns?
The last, pattern and tech pack are your intellectual property from the moment you pay development. They are stored at our partner factory and cannot be used to produce for another brand without your written consent. We sign a mutual NDA at kick-off as standard.
Can you develop to a specific fit standard (e.g. German EE)?
Yes. We have fit blocks for standard European D, wide-fit EE (primarily for German, Austrian, Dutch and Scandinavian markets), and narrow-fit for some Asian markets. We can also develop a custom fit block from a reference pair you send us.
Do you handle CE marking and EU compliance?
For anatomic and orthopaedic sandals (BIOS line), yes — we prepare CE declarations under the General Product Safety Regulation and, where applicable, support MDR Class I registration. For standard footwear we manage REACH, CPSIA (USA) and labelling compliance as part of production.
Kick off a custom project

Send us a brief
and meet your factory.

A 3-page brief is enough to start. Within 5 working days you receive a construction-method recommendation, a factory match, an indicative FOB cost band and a timeline.

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