6 Outdoor Gear Business Success Stories [2024]
Outdoor gear is more than just equipment; it's a gateway to adventure. Starting an outdoor gear business involves creating and selling products like tents, backpacks, and hiking boots that cater to outdoor enthusiasts.
This business taps into a thriving market of hikers, campers, and adventurers who value quality and durability in their gear. To start, you’ll need to source reliable suppliers and manage an inventory of diverse products. Building a brand that resonates with your audience is crucial, requiring effective marketing and possibly collaboration with influencers in the outdoor community.
Selling outdoor gear can be highly rewarding if you're passionate about the outdoors and committed to providing top-notch products. It's a chance to contribute to someone’s next great adventure while building a profitable business. If you’re ready to combine your love of nature with entrepreneurship, this could be the ideal path for you.
In this list, you'll find real-world outdoor gear business success stories and very profitable examples of starting a outdoor gear business that makes money.
1. Glade Optics ($1.5M/year)
Curt Nichols started Glade Optics as a side project while working at a market research company. He saw an opportunity to create a challenger brand in the skiing industry due to a lack of competition and a common marketing approach. With just $5,000 in savings, he launched the business, and it has since grown to close to $1 million in annual sales. Nichols focused on building a strong product-market fit and used tactics like email marketing and targeted advertising to attract and retain customers. Glade Optics is now a profitable business experiencing over 100% YoY growth.
How much money it makes: $1.5M/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
How many people on the team: 3
Glade Optics is a premium ski goggles and helmets brand that achieved close to $1M in annual sales with just $5,000 to start, using a favorable price point, streamlined messaging and marketing, and partnering with like-minded brands to lower CACs and get in front of more skiers.
2. Hammock Sky ($960K/year)
TCM, the owners of Hammock Sky, bought the brand from its original owner, who was an American expat living in Thailand. The original owner had a vision to share the experience of extreme relaxation with people everywhere, leading to the creation of premium quality, spacious hammocks. TCM recognized the brand's values and purchased the business in 2017, experiencing great success with over $2.4 million in revenue and more than 44,000 units sold in 2020.
How much money it makes: $960K/year
How much did it cost to start: $49
How many people on the team: 100
Hammock Sky, owned by TCM, has increased sales to $2.4M through producing larger, higher quality hammocks and hammock chairs that cater to everyone’s relaxation needs and promoting greater customer loyalty and engaging with influencers on various online platforms.
3. O2 Treehouse ($762K/year)
Dustin Feider, the founder of O2 Treehouse, came up with the idea when he built a geodesic sphere in a treetop for his senior capstone project in college. This unique design garnered attention and led him to realize the potential in the treehouse building industry. Today, O2 Treehouse is a well-known company with a two-year backlog of projects and has been featured in over 85 publications.
How much money it makes: $762K/year
How much did it cost to start: $12K
How many people on the team: 8
Founder, Dustin Feider, shares how he started O2 Treehouse Commercial, a custom-built treehouse business generating $63K/month, which has been featured in over 85 publications and has a two-year backlog of projects waiting, along with the launch of Treewalkers, a treehouse hospitality franchise seeking to reconnect people with nature on a larger scale through a crowdfunding equity campaign via StartEngine.
4. Silent Pursuit ($24K/year)
Cody, a 24-year-old entrepreneur and avid hunter, developed the idea for Silent Pursuit, his hunting moccasin business, after a disappointing hunting experience where his worn-out socks jeopardized his stalk. Unsatisfied with the existing products on the market, Cody spent 9 months designing, prototyping, and manufacturing his own hunting moccasins, which are both affordable and effective in reducing noise. With a successful launch and plans to expand into apparel and accessories, Cody's dream of making Silent Pursuit a household name in the hunting industry is well on its way to becoming a reality.
How much money it makes: $24K/year
How much did it cost to start: $14K
How many people on the team: 0
Silent Pursuit is a hunting industry startup that sells deer stalking/hunting moccasins designed to reduce noise and increase comfort while hunting, with a successful launch that brought in around $2k per month, and plans to expand their product line and improve online sales with efficient marketing on Facebook and Google.
5. Rainier Watch ($23.8K/year)
David, a full-time Front End Developer, came up with the idea for his business, Rainier Watch, when he realized there was no online platform to track the visibility of Mount Rainier, a beloved mountain in the Greater Seattle area. He started a Twitter account to post daily updates on the mountain's visibility, which gained a following. Eventually, he decided to turn it into a business by selling stickers and expanding the product line to include shirts, hats, and more.
How much money it makes: $23.8K/year
How much did it cost to start: $300
How many people on the team: 0
Rainier Watch is an outdoor-inspired apparel brand that grew from selling stickers to generating several thousand dollars in sales each month through its custom Woocommerce website, as a community-driven business for quality goods inspired by mountains, donating to organizations protecting and supporting the National Parks upon purchase.
6. Gear Up Hiking ($16.2K/year)
Asen, the founder of Gear Up Hiking, started his journey in affiliate marketing in 2018. After selling his first blog, he bought Gear Up Hiking in a niche he loved and practiced himself. With a focus on quality content, keyword research, and outreach, Asen has built the website to average over $1,300 per month and attract 20k to 30k visitors monthly.
How much money it makes: $16.2K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1.7K
How many people on the team: 1
From almost zero knowledge about SEO and marketing, this founder grew Gear Up Hiking, a hiking and camping niche affiliate blog that currently averages $1300+ per month and has a traffic range of 20k to 30k visitors monthly, and is worth over $50,000 if sold for profit.
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
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