Founder Friday Series: Emerging Brands Making Waves in the Outdoor Industry
This Week’s Founders are Shaking Things Up in the Outdoor Industry
This week’s Founder Friday features two emerging brands who are making waves in the outdoor industry with their mindful approaches to both apparel and on-trail nutrition. Abode Outside is revolutionizing sustainable apparel with knitwear construction that minimizes waste while maximizing comfort and performance. Meanwhile, Canyon Crack is transforming trail snacks with nutrient-packed, chocolate-forward spreads designed to fuel adventurers tackling the toughest challenges.
Jakob Baller, Abode Outside
Sometimes it’s better to do things the hard way. That’s the philosophy guiding Abode Outside, a clothing brand based in Minnesota that makes all its garments using knitwear construction. Knitwear is often more complicated than a cut-and-sew process, but it leaves no wasted material behind. “Abode Outside is a brand rooted in the belief that clothing is a powerful tool for connecting people with nature and protecting it for the future,” says Nathan Baller, the company’s Founder & President. There are other advantages to knitwear, too. Knitwear apparel is often stretchier and comes with smoother seams to it’s immediately comfortable and creates a huge range of movement. Case in point is Abode’s hero product, the Woodland Hoodie.
Built as an all-season piece using a blend of wood pulp yarn and recycled polyester, the hoodie is sweatshirt-level soft but made for adventuring outside in any kind of weather. It also comes with a smartly-designed integrated neck gaiter for extra protection from smoke, bugs, and wind. Going forward, Baller says Abode will always offer innovative products, but the company also wants to continue advocating for smart manufacturing with an eye toward true sustainability. “We want to be recognized not just for exceptional products, but as a cultural force in the outdoor and clothing world,” he says. “We want to shape how people think about their relationship with nature and the brands they allow into their homes and closets.”
Tom Richman, Canyon Crack
Tom Richman, like many of us, was sick of the same old trail snacks. If he had to scarf down one more can of tuna or stale bar he was going to lose his mind. What he really wanted was something more fun and tasty, like a jar of Nutella, but with a better nutritional balance that would help him and other adventurers keep going when they needed quality calories. Not seeing anything, he started making his own chocolate-forward mixtures 15 years ago, and today he packages them into jars or on-the-go packets through his company Canyon Crack.
Jammed with high-quality fats, proteins, and carbs, the products are meant to have a super high calorie-to-weight ratio so anyone on a long trail—thru-hikers, backcountry skiers, etc.—gets the most out of each bite. Tom says users love to spread the products on apples or tortillas or eat them right off a spoon. He also packages them in individual packets for people who need to move extra fast. Flavors include biscoff, chocolate oreo, espresso biscotti, and ginger snap. Going forward the plan is to get the products into as many brick and mortar shops as possible and continue to find better ways to package the spreads with an eye toward sustainability. At its core, however, Richman says that brand will always be a “unique energy option for people who like to do hard things.”
Why These Founders Matter
Founders like these demonstrate what happens when founders listen to the needs of the outdoor community and respond with thoughtful, human-centered design. For retailers, these brands represent the kind of innovation your customers crave: practical solutions that enhance functionality, ease of use, and quality of life outdoors.
Ready to stock products that make a difference? Discover more innovative brands like these at Outdoor Retailer, where the next generation of outdoor solutions comes to life.