As the weather grows colder, I thought it was fitting to explore the great minds behind the growing brand, Love Your Melon. Zachary Quinn, 26, and Brian Keller, 25, met when they were both attending the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. On the second day of their entrepreneurship class, Brian and Zachary decided to join forces to create a project that would see a profit at the end of the semester. They decided to create a company that would sell beanies, and their reason was that it’s always cold in Minnesota. After raising $3500 in small loans from family and friends, Zachary and Brian sent their beanie design to a knitting mill in Portland, Oregon, and the embroidered logo was designed and created by a local business.
Once Brian and Zachary had their product, they decided to add a nonprofit element because Zachary was influenced by his mom’s contributions to homeless shelters. Brian and Zachary decided to donate one beanie for every beanie purchased to patients suffering from cancer. During their first round of sales, Love Your Melon sold 200 beanies in front of Zachary’s parents’ restaurant, so Brian and Zachary donated 200 beanies to oncology patients at a local children’s hospital.
Zachary was impacted greatly by one patient they donated a beanie to, and that inspired him to take a gap year so he could focus on growing the business. Pretty soon they were traveling and spreading the positive brand on a bus tour. During their adventures in 2014, they decided to create their college ambassador program because a lot of students were interested in deliverin
g the beanies to cancer patients. Today, Love Your Melon has 13,000 students at 850 schools delivering beanies to kids with cancer, and they have expanded their product line to scarfs, blankets, and gloves.
This is an inspiring story and another example of how a great idea has started within a classroom. I think this proves that minds coming together can create a stronger company because Zachary was familiar with nonprofits but needed Brian to help create a product that can serve his mission. What really impressed me about this story was the passion that Zachary and Brian had. They didn’t stop at getting an A in the class, they were impacted by the patients they were serving, and that drove them to continue growing Love Your Melon. Finally, Love Your Melon is a great example of a company that started with a simple product/niche but eventually expanded into a larger market.
Love your melon is a brand that I have loved for a long time now, and the whole idea behind it is awesome. I found it really interesting that the Company was created by two men, seeing that women make up a large portion of the target audience. The fact that Love Your Melon is able to be such a successful company even several years after it was created is awesome.
I think it is really cool how such an influential business and well-known brand was started by students. It’s pretty encouraging honestly, and I like how you shared the story of how they were inspired to bring the philanthropic/socially-minded aspect of their business into the plan. Also I like how you pointed out how they are a good example of teamwork, and the way that businesspartners complement each other.