PHOENIX – The big hat company that exploded on the scene after an NFL player wore one in a post-game interview is based in Phoenix.
One of the co-founders of Noggin Boss is talking about how this unique idea came to be.
Gabe Cooper and Sean Starner founded Noggin Boss in 2019. Flash forward to 2022, and sales are through the roof.
“It’s been insane the last few weeks, specifically. There were some things on social media that literally just went crazy,” Cooper said.
Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson wore one of the big hats during a post-game interview last month, and it went viral. Since then, orders have spiked by 2,000%.
“We were geared up for Black Friday through Cyber Monday, but this just took it to a whole new atmosphere. It’s been really fun to get reached out to by various bowl games that are coming up toward the end of the year,” Cooper said.
How did the idea of an oversized hat come about? Cooper went through several business ideas and this one happened to stick. Then, Cooper and Starner made it on Shark Tank earlier this year.
“We wore it around to different events and people just kept coming up saying, ‘Oh my gosh, I love that. Where can I get it?’ It brought so many smiles to people, and we said OK, we got to do this,” Cooper said.
The hats are making their way around sports teams, too. The company has sold hats to the Dallas Mavericks and the Arizona Cardinals.
Of course, they’re looking to expand.
“It was fun to see the excitement around the brand. We’re excited personally to fast-track our licensing applications in these various leagues because we always wanted to do it the right way, and we just know that it takes time we’re excited fans will soon be able to get their hands on officially licensed products,” Cooper said.
This small business of big hats has officially taken off.