I don’t think my opinion is very different from the consensus of this thread. I think you need to find the customer and brand in a way to appeal to that crowd. It seems like you have a proof of concept, you have the manufacturing part, you may not actually have the product. You may need to change a lot of things to bring this to a marketable product.
What you’re offering currently feels more like a tech demo/science fair project than a consumer product. I don’t think the product has a lot of appeal past 3D printing nerds. And I doubt 3D printing nerds would be likely to buy shoes or represent a large sustainable market.
For one, the shoe doesn’t really take advantage of 3D printing in a meaningful way. The product was designed around the limitations of 3D printing but don’t really offer anything a regular shoe doesn’t. I think the current customization options aren’t great either. It’s kind of a hard UX problem to give customers the possibility of doing meaningful customization vs giving options that will actually be used and not creating yourself a bunch of work to test out the combinations.
I would personally suggest looking into a very niche market rather than the broad pitch you’re currently doing. While marketing to the general footwearing population, it’s very difficult to justify a high price. So profit will come from volume and from what I can see scaling up will be extremely difficult with the setup you currently have. IE if your product somehow ends up on Hypebeast, I don’t see how you’ll be able to fulfill orders in a reasonable time span. I’m sure there are specific needs that could greatly benefit from your experience in manufacturing 3D printed shoes.
Maybe look into orthopedics and helping people with disabilities. In those market the customization would make you shine and you might be able to have a higher charge due to the specific nature, the fact there is little competition and there might be some subsidies/insurance money in there.
Maybe water sports could benefit from your capabilities as I’m guessing your shoes don’t have an issue with water (though some plastics don’t deal that well with water…). Maybe high performance rowing shoes. Or kayaking shoes that are also ok for hiking and don’t look silly when you’re just chilling around with them. Maybe you could come up with really comfy swimming fins.
Anyhow marketing wise, TOMS and Crocs come to mind as being in a similar space as you are. General everyday shoes that don’t fit existing categories.
I would agree on learning Grasshopper/parametric. I think it’s about the only way you’ll be able to get meaningful customization on the shoe and truly harness the possibilities that are opened to you by 3D printing. Also have a look at https://shapediver.com/ for your customization. It’s able to take your Grasshopper definition and turn it into a web customization app.
Here’s a mid sole I made fairly easily with Grasshopper. Hit me up if you want to talk shop.