Alpaka | The Story
August 01, 2025The world of everyday carry seems to attract obsessive personalities. Maybe it’s because there are so many creatives and designers out there who spend days hauling Macbooks, tablets and notepads from home to office to studio and back again. This also explains why the internet is full of bloggers and reviewers who seem to spend most of their spare time hunting for the perfect bag. You’ll find them on websites, YouTube channels, online forums, Reddit threads and Facebook groups. These people have considered and discussed endless options when it comes to bags and packs.
Generally, few products hit the mark. There’s always a niggle: too bulky, too flimsy, too ugly, too expensive – the upshot being that buyers generally resign themselves to something that’s merely “good enough”, and the quest goes on. But what if instead of settling, you decided to solve the problem yourself? That’s exactly what happened in a Melbourne university classroom in 2014, when two students with a shared obsession for quality kit decided they’d had enough of compromises.
Going beyond ‘good enough’
It was 2014 when Ramiro Gomez, a biotechnology graduate from Mexico who’d pivoted from STEM subjects to pursue dual master’s degrees in business IT and commerce, met Jin Li at RMIT – the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, one of Australia’s biggest and most prestigious universities. Both shared an entrepreneurial drive but, perhaps more importantly, a shared frustration with the soft goods market. "Jin is a massive nerd in terms of bags," Ramiro reflects. "I think at that time he had like, 300 bags or something crazy like that. For me I love gear, I love travelling as well, so we kind of tried to merge both of them together and came up with the idea of a bag brand."
Their eureka moment wasn't dramatic – it was practical. The duo had searched the market for the perfect work bag that could take them from office to adventure whilst keeping essentials protected. Being perfectionists, nothing available truly ticked all their boxes. So, they decided to create it themselves. The brief was deceptively simple: design a stylish, all-in-one commuter bag that simplified yet organised essentials without compromising durability and functionality. In other words, it would be the archetypal all-rounder.
What followed was a masterclass in learning by doing. Neither founder had design experience, but they had determination. Jin's obsession with bags provided the user insight, whilst Ramiro's analytical mindset brought structure to the chaos. Alas, their first attempt – an overly complex backpack – failed spectacularly due to scope creep. "Our backpack failure taught us a crucial lesson, which was to keep the design simple, not adding extra features that had no value to our target customer," Jin later reflected.
Learning that less is more
The setback proved invaluable. For their second attempt – what would become the 7ven Messenger – they stripped everything back to essentials. The design process was refreshingly analogue: pen and paper for ideation, then simple digital tools for refinement and communication with their prototyping team in China. Using Adobe Illustrator and Autodesk Sketchbook, they created designs that could be efficiently communicated across the 5,000 miles separating Melbourne from their manufacturing partners.
The prototyping phase revealed the true cost of perfection. Twenty-five iterations and nearly ten months of refinement later, they had their design. Each prototype was field-tested for weeks, with every element scrutinised for improvement or removal. It was an exhaustive process that established a pattern: Alpaka would rather take longer to get things right than rush imperfect products to market.
The cost of commitment
But even perfect prototypes need perfect execution. Jin made the ultimate commitment to quality, relocating to China to personally oversee production. "It's not just business; it's a journey to ensure fair wages and comfortable workplaces for the hardworking souls behind our creations," he explains. This hands-on approach wasn't just about quality control – it was about building relationships and ensuring ethical manufacturing practices aligned with their values.
The Kickstarter campaign that launched Alpaka in late 2016 was shot, appropriately enough, around Melbourne's Docklands – a location that would prove prophetic when they opened their flagship store there eight years later. With no marketing experience, they created everything themselves: Ramiro wrote the copy and found a videographer who became their first employee. Somehow, they managed to raise $90,000 from backers who believed in their vision.
The brand name was inspired by the grit and resilience of the alpaca – animals whose ability to adapt from farmlands to the high altitudes of the Andes mirrors Alpaka's own design philosophy. After all, life's unpredictability demands equally adaptable gear. But unlike the hardy South American camelid that inspired their moniker, Alpaka's journey began not in mountain ranges, but in the heart of the city.
Success, however, came with hard lessons. "We knew nothing about logistics, costing and all that stuff," Ramiro admits. The early years were characterised by persistence in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges. Ramiro maintained a full-time job whilst managing the brand in his spare time, eventually going part-time as the workload grew. Meanwhile, Jin threw himself into life in China, managing production and learning manufacturing inside out.
Finding a new way
Then, disaster. A global pandemic that nobody could have foreseen. The impact of COVID-19 nearly ended their story before it truly began. "The pandemic almost put us out of business," Ramiro recalls. Their Kickstarter-heavy model was no longer sustainable in a world where crowdfunding campaigns became increasingly difficult to execute. The pivot to e-commerce in 2019, combined with bringing on a permanent designer, changed everything. Instead of launching products exclusively through crowdfunding, they began building a customer-centric web presence, simultaneously refining their product designs based on customer feedback.
The strategy worked. After surviving 2020, the brand experienced explosive growth from 2021 onwards. The secret wasn't just better products – it was better listening. "It's been incredible growth since then, which is really just down to listening to our customers. They've really driven a lot of the design direction that we've gone down in the past few years," Ramiro explains.
This approach manifests in products that solve real problems. The Elements Backpack Pro, for instance, brings peace of mind to urban chaos with waterproof YKK Aquaguard zippers and integrated AirTag pockets, keeping your stuff safe and secure. The Bravo Sling Mini offers modular versatility in a compact form, fitting everything from an iPad Mini to a Nintendo Switch whilst maintaining complete weather protection. Even something as simple as the Alpaka Zip Pouch demonstrates the philosophy – RFID-blocking materials and fully waterproof construction in one of their smallest, most affordable lines. Each product undergoes extensive real-world testing to ensure it performs as promised across various conditions.
Better listening
Sustainability has evolved from personal passion to business imperative. "Back in the day sustainability used to be like an option, a 'nice to have' as a brand," Ramiro notes. "But I think going forward it's more of a business imperative." Their commitment extends beyond materials – they've developed Axoflux, their custom 100% recycled fabric, as well as utilising carbon-neutral materials, but have also eliminated single-use plastics from packaging, and partnered with 1% For The Planet to donate 1% of annual revenue to environmental nonprofits. This includes organisations like the Surfrider Foundation, which organises mass beach clean-ups, safeguarding marine environments and protecting fragile ecosystems.
The brand's target audience – those obsessive everyday carry (EDC) enthusiasts – represents a growing subculture of consumers who view their gear as extensions of themselves. These aren't hiking bags pretending to be urban accessories; they're purpose-built for modern lifestyles whilst maintaining outdoor-grade durability. "We wanted to create a brand that is aesthetic but very functional – products that help make things easier in everyday life," Ramiro explains.
Nearly a decade after that first Kickstarter campaign, Alpaka has come full circle. Their flagship store opened in 2024 in the same Docklands neighbourhood where their very first product video was filmed. It isn't just a retail unit – it's a manifestation of their community-first approach. The store hosts events, meet-ups, and classes, serving as a gathering space for the Alpaka community. It's a testament to how far they've travelled from those early startup days.
Today, Alpaka's influence extends beyond their native Australia. Ramiro explains that the United States represents their largest market, followed by Europe and the UK, with growth driven by their ability to balance global appeal with local presence. Their approach to innovation remains unchanged: identify real problems, create elegant solutions, test relentlessly, and never compromise on quality or ethics.
Keep moving forward
Looking ahead, the brand continues to evolve whilst staying true to their core philosophy. New collections based on customer feedback are planned, with camera carry representing a significant focus area for the near future (watch this space). But perhaps more importantly, they're pioneering what omni-channel retail means for modern soft goods brands – seamlessly connecting online and offline experiences whilst building genuine community.
When you think about it, Alpaka's success makes perfect sense. They've identified a truth that resonates with anyone navigating modern life: the right gear doesn't just carry your things, it makes daily life that much easier. In a world where the only constant is change, having reliable, adaptable, beautifully designed gear becomes not just practical, but essential.
It's best summed up by the brand's mantra; "Keep Moving Forward". More than a marketing phrase, it's a promise that whatever life throws at you, your gear won't let you down. And in Alpaka's case, that promise is backed by nearly a decade of refusing to compromise, listening to customers, and proving that the best innovations often come from the most unexpected places.
From biotechnology labs to Melbourne lecture halls, from failed prototypes to global success, Alpaka's journey proves that sometimes the most meaningful progress comes not only from dramatic pivots, but also from persistent refinement of a simple idea: that everyday carry can be both beautiful and bulletproof, functional and sustainable, global and personal. The products don't just look good, they perform better too.