YETI's 2008 excuse of raw materials cost increases was "total bullshit"
Roy Seiders · YETI: Roy and Ryan Seiders. How Two Brothers Turned a $400 Cooler Into a $2 Billion Brand · Aug 24, 2026 · at 1:02:16
Roy Seiders discloses the misleading justification given to retailers to explain YETI's 2008 price hike during supply chain disruptions.
0:00 / 0:06exact quote · 6.4s
720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark
“We blame that price increase on a cost of raw materials increase. Which was total bullshit, but we had to tell them something.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from Roy Seiders
Independent retailers needed premium coolers to earn viable square-footage margins
“A small sporting goods store with limited square footage, they can't make any money off of a 40 dollar cooler, you know... It's all about, at these small shops, it's inventory turns, you know, Dollars generated per square foot, and so here we are, we showed up…”
Investing aggressively in brand building beats spending startup resources on patent defense
“Getting a patent is an expensive process, but even more expensive is actually protecting it when you do have infringement. So we felt like it was kind of a waste of resources, you know, instead of playing a prevent defense, it was more about being offensive mi…”
Competitors entering the premium cooler market were effectively fighting for second place
“And I think everyone that came into the market that it seemed like all at one time, they were all fighting it out for second place. And we felt like we had nailed the product and that it was going to be hard to improve on it, which it was.”
Ordinary coolers broke down so often they were effectively disposable seasonal products
“Putting them on the boats has really exposed me to kind of the frustrations of ordinary coolers falling apart. When you our daily abuse and our daily wear and tear, the hinges would break, the latches would snap, and I think this was kind of my light bulb mome…”