Bend consumer products company Puffin Drinkwear named an outdoor and action sports veteran its new permanent CEO.
The news comes the same week the fast-growing company landed on the No. 131 spot on the 2023 Inc. 5000.
Tory Upham started this month as CEO. He took over from interim leader Scott Allan, who took the reins temporarily earlier this year as the company closed a significant funding round from Portland’s Village Family Capital and Colfam Management.
Upham is a recent transplant to Bend. He moved to Central Oregon from Southern California for his previous employer. He was most recently president of CushCore and Kreft Moto, sister companies that make parts for bikes and motorcycles.
His career also includes time at Dakine Equipment and nine years at Exxel Outdoors.
Puffin makes a line of beverage coozies that are tiny versions of jackets, flannels and other apparel sized for bottles and cans. Products are available in more than 4,500 stores across the U.S. and Canada including REI, Bass Pro Shops, L.L. Bean and Williams Sonoma.
Upham’s career has spanned companies that make equipment for outdoor and action sports. He sees Puffin’s more novelty product as an accessory to an array of outdoor activities.
“I’m familiar with the types of activities that someone that might be carrying a Puffin might be doing,” he said, adding that founder Tyrone Hazen started the company sitting around a campfire. “That is familiar to me both professionally and personally, thinking about how someone starts to think about what they are bringing on a camping trip or down to the river for the day.”
“The DNA of Puffin is to bring together outside and having fun together,” he said.
The brand is resonating with consumers. Founded in 2018, Puffin has seen 3,752% growth in the last three years. It has more than 100 designs available and a team of 16 people.
Upham was attracted to the job on the strength of the brand and the team, he said. He is also excited to further build the brand and the business that is already a category creator.
“We’re thrilled to have Tory joining our team,” Hazen said in a written statement. “With his previous experience as a leader in the outdoor, sporting and action sports industry as well as being business savvy, he is the ideal candidate to take Puffin Drinkwear to the next level.”
Upham was first introduced to the brand by happenstance. He moved to Bend last summer and attended an event by the Oregon Outdoor Alliance that was hosted at Puffin’s headquarters. There he met Allan. Neither was connected to Puffin at the time, but Upham was interested in connecting with him based on his past work leading fast-growing water bottle maker Hydro Flask.
The two kept in touch and after Allan was named interim CEO their conversations changed, Upham said. Allan eventually approached Upham about the job.
The company is headed into a busy period. The fourth quarter and holiday shopping is a large part of the company’s business, Upham said. The team is launching a new campaign called RAD (Really Awesome Drinkwear) that is built on '80s nostalgia with neon and denim colorways and an aesthic of Warren Miller films, polaroid pictures and Trans Ams, he said.
