ORCA COOLERS
MAKE EVERY MOMENT COOL
They say competition brings out the best in product and the worst in people. However, Cliff Walker, the founder of ORCA Coolers, simply wanted to produce a better cooler and focus on innovation without bad mouthing his competitors.
Rotomolded coolers have become a staple in the outdoor industry. You’ll see some form of them loaded into the beds of trucks at the workplace, at campsites, on fishing boats, and now in parking lots across the nation during sports tailgate parties. Rotomolding is a process in which a powdered polymer is poured into a hollow mold and then heated and rotated as the polymer melts and coats in the inside of the mold. The process gained traction in the early ‘80s as the manufacturing process of choice for kayaks. Today, the process is applied to several applications, and for various uses from the outdoors to military and law enforcement.
Many choose rotomolded coolers for the performance benefits. The ice retention is leaps and bounds greater than traditional styrofoam or plastic coolers. The extreme durability also makes the coolers highly sought after. However, with greater benefits comes a higher price tag. For years, Yeti has marketed themselves as the rotomolded cooler that all others have modeled themselves after. So does one compete against a giant in the industry? For Walker, it wasn’t about competition as much as it was about innovating and creating his own line. Walker says, “Yeti does a fantastic job. You’ll hear me bring them up, and you really won’t ever hear me say bad things about them because they created a market for everybody.”
ORCA, short for Outdoor Recreation Company of America, was founded in 2012 and started like many business ideas do — over a few beers. Walker and a former business partner found themselves drinking a beer out of a Yeti cooler and the thought came about that they could do a better job. The concept was simple, create a better cooler that would be built in the United States to help provide jobs for American workers. Today, there are over a hundred employees that work for the company, but the road to the company’s success wasn’t an easy one. During the process, it came to a point where Walker bought out his partner to take full control of the business to have his vision for the brand come to fruition.
The initial concept was to simply improve the ice retention of their cooler. They started with thicker walls, thicker foam, and even made the walls from puncture-proof, bear-tested plastic, but the made-in-America aspect was important, so they sought to create the product stateside, which has proven to be a large benefit for the company.
The first cooler was a 75-quart cooler. After doing some research on manufacturing rotoformed products, they found that to start, you need foam and a fixture. Their initial fixture was made with plywood and the first time they put the foam into it, the foam literally blew out of the sides of the plywood due to the pressure. That was the
company’s first mold. Many attempts later, they stuck to their guns and learned from that experience. It took the company about a year to get a product ready to go to market. Six years later, it has about 60 molds in seven different sizes, producing products in over 60 color combinations.
The company, like many cooler brands, started in the hunting and fishing industry, where many of its established competitors had already made a name for themselves. But an idea struck Walker to cater to the sports tailgater, the diehard fans that religiously watch college and professional sports—from the NFL, NHL to even NASCAR. He went on to obtain the licenses from the professional leagues, sports teams and colleges. Sports licensing is a difficult process, one which can take years to grow and gain approval, but patience has paid off for ORCA, with that part of the business
taking off in the past few years.
Walker believes, “You’ve got to think, how do you get better or how do you differentiate yourself from everybody else?” He knew that because ORCA makes its coolers here in America, it would have more flexibility in its designs. It could create unique colors, such as pink, and customization with logos or initials that no one else was offering. It could also offer a one-off or low quantity custom cooler in-house, which leads to more options for its consumers, and in turn, more customers. Promotional and co-branded products have become another large part of the business, with its ability to add logos and create custom-colored product to match corporate brand colorways.
With innovation and creativity at the heart of the company, ORCA created one of the first backpack-style coolers, with their ORCA
Pods and Podster. Walker points out that the competition has followed in its footsteps releasing their own versions. He adds, “All of our designs are different and unique.”
ORCA coolers are manufactured in its Nashville, Tennessee, headquarters as well as in a plant located in Ohio. The process is done in cycles so the company is wellequipped to handle the need during the warmer months when demand for coolers is at its peak for the year. The products are tested in real-world environments under real conditions, with outdoor enthusiasts continually putting the products through its paces in the company’s own backyard, the Tennessee River.
The tests and belief in their products have given ORCA the confidence to offer a lifetime warranty. Its goal is to produce the last cooler that a consumer would ever need to buy, and ORCA stands by it. Walker informs us, “That's good customer service. That's what people want. That's what people expect when they're paying 300 bucks for a cooler.”
Aside from the soft-sided backpack coolers, ORCA also offers stainless steel drinkware, cooler accessories, and apparel. Yet, their focus is on their core product, the rotomolded cooler. Walker doesn’t have any plans to enter other markets, such as travel cases, at the moment, but will continue to innovate the products at hand. Literally, the future looks bright for ORCA. They recently introduced the LiddUp cooler, which has an LED lighting system that illuminates the interior of the cooler when open, making it easy to identify items in the dark. Walker will continue to grow his business at his own pace, but for now his goals are to make their products better by finding the balance between supreme performance and weight savings. “A cooler is a cooler is a cooler. How do we make that cooler better? We make them lighter. We make it stronger.” Walker adds.
ORCA is following its own path to success by catering to those that want to have fun in the outdoors, at work, or tailgating for the big game. Despite the comparisons to their rivals, ORCA has been able to provide jobs for American workers while creating a high-quality premium cooler with American-made components that are backed with a lifetime warranty. ORCA supports organizations and groups such as the Wounded Warrior, breast cancer programs, and national conservation organizations. The company will continue to market itself and build its brand at its own pace without spending millions of dollars on marketing, advertising, and promotions. Walker, for now, seems content with his place in the market and growing ORCA organically.