Amphipod

NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION, RIGHT?

Tell that to Amphipod founders June Angus and Keith Willows, who concocted the Micropak LandSport Lock-On Pouch after being frustrated they had nowhere to put their keys while running around their Seattle neighborhood.

After creating their flagship product – a tidy pouch that clipped onto a runner’s waistband – the partners visited local running stores with a handmade maple display rack and a request: Would you like to order a dozen pouches? Super Jock ‘n Jill was the first retail shop to bite. Many more came on board and Amphipod gained valuable momentum as the run specialty industry surged.

The Seattle-based company followed with additional savvy creations, such as the AirFlow Lite WaistPack, a minimalist fanny pack for runners, and the Full-Tilt, the first-ever horizontal hydration pack. Amphipod now holds 113 patents, 85 product styles and – to Angus’s delight – deep relationships with run specialty stores from coast to coast.

“There’s always been such a fundamental synergy with the running store community and we’re inspired by their hunger for and embrace of new innovation in the category,” Angus says.