JEDITalks hosted FrostBuddy founders Brock and Mitch Mammoser via Zoom on Tuesday, April 20. FrostBuddy is a universal can cooler which can be found both online by clicking here or locally at Miss Bradlie’s Mercantile on the square in Newton.
Both Brock and Mitch are Newton natives and Brock was a member of the Jasper CEO Class where his business was in conjunction with Eagle Country Water Works, which he would later take over. He also has acquired business experience with FitDough and a resealable canned water. Brock is currently in college and a pole vaulter for Indiana University. Mitch is also a State Farm Insurance Agent in Olney.
The inspiration for FrostBuddy came as the popularity of slim cans increased and the seltzers came onto the scene. The men researched the current products for a yeti style option for these cans and found only one other competitor. They then sold slim can coolers for awhile until they developed their ideal universal can cooler. They have also expanded to dog bowls and tumbler mugs.
With their business, their ideal situation was to have a mainly online customer base. With Brocks knowledge, he had the ability to outsource their idea to make it a reality. Their first sample was not what they wants, so they sent out slim cans to allow for the mold to be adjusted to fit correctly. The Mammosers use shopify for their business and Brock designed everything on the storefront and handles the marketing and design. After FrostBuddy became popular, the shipping aspect outgrew Mitch’s office and time and grew to the level of needing a fulfillment center to keep the flow of shipping as smooth as possible. After this change,
As with every business, there have been obstacles the brothers have had to overcome. One example they stated was, when you grow and grow you become overwhelmed until you figure it out and then it cycles again.
Shipping was another obstacle that arose as their business grew. At one point, Mitch was spending 5-6 hours a day working on shipping until they switched to a fulfillment center. One of the best quotes from the session said by one of the brothers was, “You’re building the plane while you are flying it.”
Keeping inventory in stock was an issue. It can take anywhere from 3-4 months to get product in. It takes 45 days if they sea ship it. Around Thanksgiving last year, they had to air ship items and it cut margins. Keeping inventory in stock is an issue, but they are getting to a point where it is evening out. They started pre-selling with a “won’t ship until a certain date” label on sales. They have now hired someone to handle emails. They also have a program to help put shipping information in email responses.
Around Christmas postal issues created issues in customers getting their order on time. They needed to do damage control to keep the customers from asking for a refund or not coming back. After Christmas they had a container delayed for two months. To keep that small business hometown feel, Brock would personalize the emails as much as possible. A lot of people were more understanding when they found out Brock is still in college and it’s just two people running the business not a large corporation.
The biggest challenge is time. Brock is still in school and on the track team. A big challenge has been trying to separate the two and focus. Figuring out how to delegate and how to bring on more people to help out.
Mitch: “I will brag on Brock. Building the website, downloading all these apps, at the end of the day you just have to jump in and figure it out. Brock is not your typical college kid.”
They also stated, Our biggest challenge was finding our roles and not comparing how much each was doing. As we have grown, we now oversea certain roles in the company. These roles play to their strengths. Brock looks at marketing, sales, and design. Mitch handles more of the financials, shipping, and logistics.
As for the pair’s future plans, Brock will graduate college. There will be a new design launched soon and the over 35,000 email subscribers will continue to be like family. Both discussed the fact that their customers look forward to the personal touch.
Be sure to check out their selection at www.frostbuddy.com
