I think their secret is being deeply in touch with a certain synth subculture. Elektron is a companion company in that niche. Their PO-2x series, for instance,

I think their secret is being deeply in touch with a certain synth subculture. Elektron is a companion company in that niche. Their PO-2x series, for instance, was designed by Linus Åkesson a.k.a LFT. A lot of his coding and hardware projects have hit the HN front page. I have a feeling many "serious" studio people scoff at this subculture, especially outside Sweden... But you shouldn't scoff at Sweden when it comes to music production.