‘Sky’s the limit’ for an Alabama Maker with the code for success
Aviate gives travelers a chance to show pride in their home cities or name-check a favorite destination by wearing the airport code for that city. (Alabama NewsCenter)
The Maker: Ben Lancaster
Aviate, Birmingham
For millions of travelers, the three-letter codes that airports assign to major cities instantly evoke memories of journeys past, the anticipation of adventures ahead or the satisfaction of heading home once business is done.
A Birmingham company sensed a potential market and has jumped to capitalize on those associations, first with a line of hats and now other items, with plans for additional products scheduled to arrive in 2017.
Ben Lancaster, founder and owner of Aviate, said the company began after his former business partner, C.J. Adams, had the idea to create and sell hats sporting the three-letter code for Birmingham, BHM.
By the time Lancaster become sole owner of Aviate in June 2015, the company had succeeded in getting three or four retailers to carry its products.
After some rebranding, the company set in motion a growth plan that has rapidly gained speed. Today, Lancaster said, Aviate is “knocking on the door of about 500” retailers.
Alabama Maker: Hat business soars as Aviate aims to become premium travel brand from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
A multitude of cities’ airport codes joined Birmingham in the ever-growing line of hats. Each is widely available in a minimum of two colors, charcoal and navy, and may be ordered in an array of brighter colors as well. Hat styles include a basic cotton twill and a trucker-style version.
While the hats are still its bread and butter, the company also makes items such as T-shirts and drinking glasses, and Lancaster plans much more — luggage, for example, and “anything travel-related.”
“I really feel like the sky’s the limit, especially with the plans we have in the future, with the future products and kind of making Aviate your premium travel brand,” he said.
With hundreds of retailers now on board, “we feel like we have positioned ourselves very well for the future of Aviate, so we’re not going to be your trendy, here-today-gone-tomorrow type company,” Lancaster said. “I’m kind of situating us to be here long term.”
The Product: Caps, shirts, glasses and an expanding line of other items bearing the three-letter airport codes for cities across the United States and the world.
Take Home: A BHM or MOB cap, available in various colors, $35.
Aviate, Birmingham, AL
www.shopaviate.com
