Trailheads

Lloyd Vogel has built Garage Grown Gear (GGG) into a leading platform for emerging and cottage outdoor brands. Most of these brands don’t yet have the scale, time, or visibility to show up at major trade events on their own. The mission of supporting these small brands is also what led Garage Grown Gear to partner with Switchback, where GGG is sponsoring a dedicated section in the exhibit hall for small, retail-ready brands called Pathfinders. “I was really impressed by the intentionality of Switchback,” Vogel said. “It felt like an event that you wanted to be at.”

Trailheads spoke with Vogel about why Switchback made sense, how Garage Grown Gear approaches curation, and what retailers should expect from the small-brand section on the show floor.

Trailheads: Garage Grown Gear gets asked to partner with a lot of organizations. Why did Switchback make sense?
Vogel: We try to show up in a lot of different places. Not really for us, but to leverage the influence we have to better position our brands. A lot of our brands don’t have the voice, time, energy, or visibility to interact with an organization like Switchback or really any trade show.
It’s easier for our brands to have their voices represented through us, and it’s easier for entities like Switchback to partner with us knowing that we represent a bunch of brands in this space.

Trailheads: What stood out to you when you attended Switchback for the first time?
Vogel: I went to the first Switchback and was really impressed by how holistic it felt. The mix between education, community, and product, both buying and media. It felt like a real who’s who of the industry. I’ve also been really impressed by everything Diversified is doing. In conversations with Christina (Henderson), it just made sense to help create and curate a section of Switchback that would prominently feature smaller brands.

Trailheads: Innovation often comes from small brands, but doing business with very small brands can be risky. How do you mitigate that risk?
Vogel: Small brands are definitely more volatile. But where there is risk and uncertainty, there is opportunity. We could just sell big legacy brands with proven track records, but where there is certainty, there is generic competition from everyone because it’s easy. There’s no differentiator. It is harder to work with small brands, but when we make it work, we’re not splitting that success with hundreds of other retailers.

Trailheads: Garage Grown Gear is known for curation. What does that look like?
Vogel: Probably only about 10 percent of the brands that apply to Garage Grown are brands that we accept. We’re trying to figure out whether a brand is small because it hasn’t had exposure, because it’s really niche, or because it’s just not a good product. There are some small brands that are small because their idea kind of sucks, but there are also plenty that just don’t know how to break through. If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a hell no.

Trailheads: How do you avoid that curation turning into gatekeeping?
Vogel: There’s a fine line between curation and gatekeeping. We try not to gatekeep, but we do try to curate. Well-curated platforms make things more accessible. People can come to Garage Grown Gear and know that whatever they’re buying is going to be good for the activity they’re looking for, instead of navigating hundreds of small brand websites.

Trailheads: What does the Garage Grown Gear partnership with Switchback look like on the show floor?
Vogel: We’re sponsoring a section of Switchback (Pathfinders) that allows about 30 small brands to exhibit at discounted booth rates. For us, it’s about supporting our brands in their growth. Part of that growth is finding new wholesale and retail partners, and Switchback is a national platform where buyers are looking for new and interesting things.

Trailheads: Will the brands in Pathfinders be vetted?
Vogel: Yes. They’ll be brands that are part of Garage Grown Gear or Founded Outdoors, and they’ll also be vetted by Switchback. If a brand isn’t ready to go wholesale or retail, there’s not really a reason for them to be there. We don’t want brands paying money to attend a national show they’re not ready for.

Trailheads:  From a business perspective, is there a clear ROI for Garage Grown Gear here?
Vogel: There’s not a clear ROI. It might even be a negative return on investment. We’re paying for this. There’s no cost to our brands. We’re not a pay-to-play platform. It comes out of our retail margins, which means we’re incentivized to promote and market our brands because that’s the only way we make money. Everyone has skin in the game, and it becomes a win-win-win between us, our brands, and our customers.

Trailheads: Finally, what are you most excited about personally heading into year two of Switchback?
Vogel: I’m excited to see the evolution. Year one was an incredible first showing, and I’m really interested to see what year two manifests. If it was a direct repeat of last year, I’d still come. But I know they’ll continue to evolve and I’ve been really impressed by how much they’re investing in education and paying speakers. They’re doing all the right things.

Interested in learning more from Lloyd Vogel? Preview his education session The Role of Ecommerce in Outdoor Specialty Retail and attend in-person at Switchback Spring 2026 this June 16-18, in New Orleans, LA. Click here to secure your pass.