Raleigh maker of natural mosquito repellent expanding product line and adding jobs
Murphy’s Naturals, the Raleigh-based maker of a natural mosquito repellent, is set to grow its headcount here and expand its product line after receiving a new injection of cash from investors.
Murphy’s, which is based out of the Loading Dock coworking space in Raleigh, will also use the money to boost sales of its products by investing in marketing and its supply chain, said Philip Freeman, the founder and CEO.
Around 70% of the company’s sales come from online sources, like Amazon, Freeman said, but the company wants to increase the amount it sells in stores. Next year, for example, the company will have five products in over 1,500 Target stores across the country, when it previously had one product in around 300 stores.
The company declined to say how much capital it raised in the funding round, which was led by Raleigh-based One Better Ventures, a long-time investor in Murphy’s, and CompanyFirst, a Chicago-based investment group. The investors have another opportunity to put money into the company within six months, Freeman said.
“With the second tranche [of investment], if they choose to, it will help us for the next couple years,” Freeman said, noting the company is also taking on financing from a bank. “Then we will look at profitability levels and our cash flow before deciding what to do next. We are profitable, which is important.”
The company is also looking to hire seven to 10 more employees to add to its staff of 13.
Freeman, also the founder of the Loading Dock, started the company in 2013 as a way to help his wife enjoy the outdoors without being pestered by mosquitoes. Murphy’s has enjoyed strong growth over the past five years: Freeman pointed to growing consumer preference for products with natural ingredients as one of its advantages. The company uses strong combinations of essential oils in its products rather than chemical components like DEET.
Freeman said his products are more effective.
“Because natural essential oils are so expensive, most of the big brands would put in trace amounts of things like citronella oil,” he said. “They were inexpensive but not effective. When you put a combination of ingredients at a higher percentage — and we are much higher than the average brand — they work well.”
The company’s signature lemon eucalyptus oil repellent is priced at $11.95 on Amazon.
A ‘huge upside’
The company has grown by 50% per year for the past several years, according to John Replogle, the former CEO of Burt’s Bees and founder of One Better Ventures. He invested in the company for the first time five years ago.
Replogle’s venture firm has the goal of creating a host of socially minded consumer products companies in the Triangle, investing in other local companies like Slingshot Coffee. Murphy’s is a certified B Corporation and gives away 2% of its gross revenues to social and environmental organizations, like the Triangle Land Conservancy, Bunker Labs and Outward Bound.
“I think it will be the leading brand in natural and safe outdoor products,” Replogle said of the future of Murphy’s. “We plan to expand beyond insect repellent and into sun care and other things where there are chemical-based alternatives that need to be displaced.
“I see this growing into a $100 million, outdoor-lifestyle and personal-care brand in the coming years.”
The company currently has 12 products, including insect repellent oils, candles and balms — but it will launch several more next year, including repellent wipes.
Freeman said that the company has a long way to go before it reaches that $100 million revenue mark, but he believes they haven’t touched their growth potential yet.
“Quite frankly, 70% of our revenue is online, which is a significant percentage,” he said. “We are in a number of decently sized retailers, like Target and Wegmans … but there is a huge amount of retail that we haven’t touched yet. That is where the huge upside is.”
This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate
