Tech Fiber Brand 37.5 Seeks to Evaporate the Competition

A technical fiber brand called 37.5—named for the optimal core body temperature in degrees Celsius—is aggressively courting new business. In the last several months the brand, created by Boulder, Colo.-based Cocona Inc., has relaunched, hired a global sales force under new EVP of sales, marketing and merchandising Scott Branscum and signed a deal with Performance Sports Group Ltd.

Until June this year, 37.5 was marketed under Cocona; the company got its name for its early success in using active carbon particles from coconut shells. Those active carbon particles, now derived from a number of natural sources, have extremely high surface areas. 37.5 bonds fibers with the particles, which the company says gives them an 800-percent greater surface area. When used in apparel textiles, 37.5’s fibers give garments the ability to evaporate moisture—sweat—very quickly, keeping the wearer from overheating.

Scott Branscum, a menswear veteran who has worked for Eddie Bauer and Cutter & Buck, developed and launched the performance apparel brand Massif Mountain Gear before being named president of Tumi Outerwear last year. He joined Cocona’s 37.5 team in April.

The U.S. Members of the new global sales team reporting to Branscum includes Tim Rogers on the East Coast, Gordon Roe in the Midwest and Dave Bywater on the West Coast. There are also six European sales executives.

“As we continue to manage the growth of our patented technology and provide marketplace distinction for brands, our corporate philosophy is anchored on the concept of partnership building,” said Branscum. “We are excited to add this group of experienced sales professionals who bring a proven history of building strong partnerships with iconic consumer brands.”

37.5 announced that Performance Sports Group, which owns the sporting goods and sports apparel brands Bauer Hockey, Maverick Lacrosse and Easton (baseball and softball), will use its performance fibers in an exclusive partnership.

“With respect to moisture management, there is no more demanding sport than hockey and Bauer Hockey’s focus on quality and performance made them the ideal customer for 37.5 technology,” said Cocona CEO Jeff Bowman. “We’ve been very selective about our partners and Performance Sports Group’s great success in hockey gives us tremendous confidence in its ability to properly introduce 37.5 apparel and equipment to other important brands within its portfolio.”

Other brand partners include Adidas, Asics, Puma and Under Armour.