August 23, 2021
Meet The Founders Bringing Flavor To The Car Freshener Industry
For years the car air freshener industry has been dominated by major consumer product goods players and has remained somewhat underdeveloped and unchanged.
Four founders from Michigan, residing in Los Angeles, noticed that opportunity in the summer of 2018 and founded Ride FRSH, a unique brand of car air fresheners featuring an upgraded aesthetic, iconic song lyrics about driving, and a monthly subscription model. Each month, Ride FRSH sends two air fresheners to the doorsteps of more than 10,000 active subscribers.
“FRSH is providing customer loyalty and brand affinity in a space where it traditionally has not existed.” says Co-Founder and Marketing Director Donovan Brown. “Our subscribers are passionate about the product, which on its surface is just an air freshener, but at its core it is an accessible and easy way to express yourself.”
In 2018 the team was searching for a scalable way to go to market, which wasn’t easy considering the domination that exists in this industry. “We knew we had to offer something different,” says Co-Founder and Partnerships Director Trey Brown. Our solution was to begin offering a subscription service, which had never existed for these kinds of products. This would also allow us to build a community directly as opposed to depending on distribution, which is often a more difficult game to play.
The team then began to increase their subscriber base, led by Digital Advertising pro and Co-founder Garrick Mitchell. With a steady growth rate, Ride FRSH gained the attention of numerous startup incubators and investors, netting a sizable investment from Indie.VC, led by Bryce Roberts. Since that time, they have expanded their offerings to include global wholesale capabilities as well as exclusively licensed products in partnership with NBA and Viacom Media. “Our licensing partnerships are a key differentiator in the wholesale space, and it’s something that also sets us apart from competitors in the subscription industry.“ says Dean Parker, Head of Sales.
When it comes to their motivation and the vision for their young start up, the Ride FRSH team is all aligned. Donovan Brown told us this: “Our collective goal is to create a multimillion dollar black-owned business that provides opportunities and examples for our community, specifically when it comes to entrepreneurship.
If you’d like to learn more about Ride FRSH or become a monthly subscriber visit their site here.