S
ixteen years after its
founding as Bell Sports'
first pack line under the
Blackburn brand name
and later pioneering the soft flask,
HydraPak finds itself in an enviable
position. Hydration awareness
is trending the world over as
consumers look for both clean, safe
drinking water and ways to avoid
disposable bottles to drink it from.
Also, consumers today are willing to
pay more for their hydration vessels.
"The five-dollar bicycle water
bottle has been replaced by a
$12 insulated bottle. And the $10
plastic outdoor bottle has been
replaced by a $20-30 stainless steel,
insulated one," says Matthew Lyon,
president and CEO of the Oakland
company, which is an OEM supplier to
a multitude of brands, including The
North Face, Quiksilver, Nathan, Scott,
and marketer of its own brand.
"The challenge for us," says Lyon, a
Stanford MBA and former investment
banker, "is to come with unique
products that compete with our OE
customers."
For the last two years, HydraPak has
been working with specialty retailers
in the biking, running and outdoor
segments on flexible bottles and water
storage devices, and online via its own
website and Amazon. – Bob McGee
18 runninginsight.com © 2017 Formula4media LLC.
HydraPak's Water World
To learn more about HydraPak and the
hydration market, listen to a Sports Insight
Extra podcast with Matthew Lyon here:
sportsinsightextra.com/podcast.html
Click the podacst link above for an extended
interview with HydraPak's Matthew Lyon.
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