Meet Kyle, Joe Hicks, Hicks | Quality Beverage Insulators

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kyle, Joe Hicks, Hicks and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kyle, Joe, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
We wanted to start the business because we have enjoyed the product in the family for 30 years and have always said we should take it to market because there is nothing quite like it on the market! We love quality products and we feel that other people do to. So we set out to manufacture a quality universal fit beverage insulator right here in the USA.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
KingKooler is a Moonlighting business for both Joe and I. We both have full time jobs.

When we set out we knew we that we would not be the cheapest product on the market and we were okay with that. We wanted to produce a product that was manufactured right here in the USA and would last a lifetime and would be a product that people would be proud to have in their hands.

It has been a lot of work to get where we are today and it has not been easy. We formed the LLC in 2019 and then Covid hit in 2020 and that made it really hard to work with different vendors and get materials and find a manufacturer that would make our product to our specifications. There were several vendors that we could not meet with in person and had to try and do everything remote. I don’t know any other way to say it besides that we just kept going and just kept “Working the problem”… We knew that there are so many other products that are substantially more complicated than ours so ours had to be doable, so we just kept making calls.

The other hard part of it is that we had to fund it all ourselves. Having limited funds, you have to be very strategic with what you spend your money on.

The other hurdle we have had to navigate is how to do this while still being a husband and father :). It has all been just a lot to juggle.

Below is the write up we had done about our company:

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KingKooler Backstory

KingKooler is a relatively new business, but the heart of its products has existed for years…decades really. That means the lifetime warranty isn’t an empty promise, it’s a lived out time-tested reality. Co-founder, Joe Hicks, uses the same KingKooler concept wrap he’s owned for more than thirty years. It still keeps his beer cold until the last sip even though it’s even older than his brother and fellow co-founder, Kyle Hicks.

KingKooler’s story starts in the shag carpet days of the 70s with the ingenuity and resourcefulness of these co-founders’ mom, Dawn. Her initial goal wasn’t actually to design a high-quality beverage wrap, but to efficiently insulate her home. Dawn researched affordable options and then sewed some window coverings for her old drafty single pane aluminum windows. When she was finished, she didn’t want to waste the excess scraps and wondered what she could do with them. Out of that practical desire, KingKooler insulators were born. Dawn initially created a variety of products including two different beverage wraps, a six-pack cooler, and a water bottle wrap. She made several and passed them around to friends and family. People raved about them and gave her positive feedback. She tweaked her ideas and also realized the soft-sided nature of her products filled a major gap in the market. What began as using up scraps became a dream to grow a successful business.

Dawn took her ideas to some big retail stores as well as local ones. They were positive and interested, but she soon learned it was difficult to secure a manufacturer to produce the quantities they needed. Additionally, she was working a daytime job as the primary breadwinner for seven kids, going to college, and studying for her architectural exam. Needless to say life’s demands meant KingKooler didn’t get the attention it needed to overcome the barriers and thrive. Instead, products and dreams were soon buried in storage boxes mentally labeled with “maybe someday”.

Fast forward through the decades to 2016. Kyle’s family lived in northern Colorado, and Joe moved there with his family and the boxes of old KingKooler dreams. Over cold drinks (wrapped in KingKoolers, of course), the conversation turned to their mom’s business idea. The dream resparked. Over the next few years the brothers decided to give KingKooler the attention and effort it needed and deserved.

KingKooler was born in 2019, or reborn depending on how you look at it. Officially opening the business was the easy part. Joe and Kyle renewed the expired 30 year old trademark and filed for an LLC. From the onset, the brothers decided to make the same kind of high-quality products their mom always did. They knew they’d essentially be creating their own niche market and didn’t want to compete with the cheap neoprene throw-away koozies you find on the market today. They also resolved to make every part of the products in the USA, from the tag to the filling. These standards made finding a manufacturer difficult for them as well, especially at a reasonable price point. Navigating these obstacles only made Kyle and Joe’s resolve stronger to see KingKooler thrive. The business now has a solid local manufacturer and is blazing the trail to provide customers with the last beverage wraps they’ll ever need. They hope to grow the company with new business connections and individuals who experience the versatility and quality of KingKoolers for themselves. Even more than that, these brothers want to make the KingKooler dream that was born of their mom’s practical ingenuity, a reality.
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This is our “Brand Story” marketing piece that we use to appeal to our audience:

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Brand Story or Narrative

Almost everybody has come across the cheap, neoprene drink sleeve designed to hopefully keep your drink at the optimal temperature. It’s a fantastic concept — and certainly better than the standard open cup or mug.
Unfortunately, your drink continually leaks from condensation buildup. The temperature rarely stays consistent. And, the poor design means it’s not durable or universal.
Bottom line? It’s no more than a common giveaway that you’ll soon throw away. (sigh)
Here at King Kooler, we believe the right drink at the perfect temp makes all the difference. It’s why we’ve designed a durable, beverage insulator that’s the polar opposite of the cheap drink sleeves we’ve all grown tired of.
Think about it…Backyard BBQs. Pool parties. Golf Course. Sporting events. Just about every social gathering is surrounded by one of your favorite drinks.
And daily life—from morning pours to evening nightcaps—is fueled by them too.
If our favorite beverages are the reliable companions showing up to witness our hard work and inspire our creative spurts, then they must stay at the optimal temperature.
Ready to savor every sip?
Here’s how:
1. Choose your King Kooler
Select the color, style, and quantity.
2. Complete your order

We’ll get your new beverage insulator delivered to your doorstep.
3. Savor every sip
Enjoy your favorite drink at the perfect temp.
If you’re…
➔ Tired of throwing out watered-down drinks.
➔ Wasting money on cheap drink holders that don’t fit every can or bottle.
➔ Over the burnt taste that comes with re-heating that perfect cup of joe.
It’s time you try King Kooler. Our beverage insulators are built to last and get the job done. Manufactured locally in honor of veterans, they’re lightweight, packable, sustainable, durable, and come with a limited lifetime warranty (that you’ll likely never need, but is there just in case). In fact, our founders created their first prototype in the 80s and still use the same ones today.
Now, picture this: You’re in the deer stand on a frosty morning or at the pool with family, and your drink stays at the perfect temp—enabling you to enjoy the moment and savor every sip.
Shop the King Kooler collection today and enjoy your favorite drink at the perfect temp.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

Arrive Friday Night – 7pm arrival

Hit Local Micro Brewery for a drink
Hit up a local restaurant
Chill back at the house and catch up

Saturday
Hit up favorite local brunch joint
Go to concert at Mishiwaka or Red Rocks Ampitheatre

Sunday
Brunch at the house
Go play some disc Golf
BBQ bach at the house
Yard Games at the house

Monday
Chill day lounging around the house

Tuesday
Go Car Camping up Highway 14 for 2 nights

Wednesday
Camping

Thursday
Brunch and come back late afternoon

Friday
Lounge at the pool
Fly out late Friday.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The shout out for KingKooler all goes to our Mom. KingKooler was all her idea back in the 80’s and so there is no KingKooler without her 🙂

But more than that, growing up our mom was the primary bread winner, and has always told us that we can and encouraged us to do our best and work hard.

Website: www.kingkooler.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekingkooler/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thekingkooler

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KingKooler

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGH0vruKZ-z1MtSf-Be1zmw

Image Credits
Wyatt Film Company Get to the Pint Dynamic Overland