Product: Revolutionary Hiking Sandals Developers: Yoki Gill and Daniel Benoziliyo Company: Source Vagabond Systems Ltd. Start of Development: 1990
In a speech marking 68 years since the establishment of Israel, the State President Ruvi Rivlin listed 68 reasons to love Israel.
Source Sandals was one of them. In the early 1980s, Yoki Gill and Daniel Benoziliyo traveled abroad after having completed their military service. They returned two years later, determined to make a dream they had formulated on their travels come true: to build an Israeli factory for the manufacturing of original, innovative, practical, inexpensive travel gear suited to the Israeli climate.
In 1989, Gill and Benoziliyo founded Source Vagabond Systems Ltd. in a studio apartment. The development process of the hiking sandal took them two years. The biggest challenge they faced was mass producing a sandal that would mold itself to the contours of the wearer’s foot and help them in safely complete long treks under harsh conditions.
The breakthrough happened in 1990 with the conception of the adjustable, three-strap, X-shaped system, which would become the company’s first international patent. However, this did not resolve all their challenges. People in the footwear and travel gear industry were skeptical that there would be interest in such a product. A 1991 collaboration with the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel led to the company’s first sales to tour guides, paving its ultimate road to success. The small manufacturing company founded on Kibbutz HaHotrim was later moved to Tirat HaCarmel, where it manufactures its sandals to this day without modifying the materials or the design of the classic model.
In the years since, Source Sandals and their colorful straps have grown to become the trademark of the Israeli traveler.
One out of ten Israelis wears Source Sandals, with millions of pairs sold in travel gear stores in 45 countries across the globe, from Australia to China. Company revenues from the sandals are valued at tens of millions of shekels a year. The company also manufactures hydration systems using exclusive technology, generating global success among travelers, athletes and soldiers alike.
Source adheres to a social agenda that is intertwined with its business operations. It is a proud, Israeli, sustainable operation founded on the guiding principle of first and foremost providing secure employment for its workers.
