The RTIC story begins far from the glossy world of premium outdoor gear. It starts with two brothers in Texas, a garage operation, and a simple belief that high performance coolers and tumblers should not cost half a paycheck. When RTIC entered the market in 2015, the outdoor cooler industry was already dominated by YETI, a brand that had turned rugged insulation into a luxury lifestyle. Competitors tried and failed to challenge YETI’s grip. RTIC, however, understood something everyone else missed, consumers admired YETI’s engineering, but they hated its price. RTIC built a business on that tension, and the result was one of the fastest growing direct to consumer brands in the outdoor space.
RTIC founders John and Jim Jacobsen had spent years watching YETI’s rise across the South. Hunters, anglers, campers, and even suburban parents wanted high end coolers that could survive brutal heat and rough terrain. But YETI’s price point kept many of those people at a distance. The Jacobsens launched RTIC with a blunt mission printed across their marketing materials, “Overbuilt, not overpriced.” The phrasing was not subtle. It was a declaration of war.
The business model was equally aggressive. Instead of selling through retailers, RTIC went direct to consumer. No middlemen, no distributor margins, no markups from outdoor stores. By selling online, they slashed the price of roto molded coolers and stainless steel tumblers to levels that undercut YETI by 30 to 50 percent. Consumers responded immediately. Orders poured in faster than the small company could fulfill them. RTIC was overwhelmed, but demand made one thing clear, YETI had created a premium category, and RTIC had created access to it.
Design similarities did not go unnoticed. RTIC’s early coolers bore a striking resemblance to YETI’s flagship models. YETI sued in 2015, beginning a highly public legal battle. The dispute ended in a settlement and required some design changes, but the lawsuit had an unintended effect, it gave RTIC free publicity. Instead of retreating, consumers viewed RTIC as the scrappy challenger fighting for budget conscious outdoorsmen. RTIC leaned into that narrative, expanding its product line while assuring customers that performance, not prestige, was the brand’s core value.
RTIC’s timing could not have been better. Social media was shifting shopping behavior, and consumers were becoming increasingly price sensitive. Influencers in hunting, BBQ, fishing, and camping communities began reviewing RTIC gear and comparing it directly to YETI. The verdict was usually the same, performance was nearly identical, durability matched expectations, and price favored RTIC by a wide margin. Word of mouth did what billion dollar marketing budgets could not. RTIC became the people’s cooler.
The company grew fast, expanding beyond coolers into tumblers, soft packs, backpacks, buckets, travel mugs, and insulated bottles. Their drinkware in particular exploded. While YETI’s stainless steel tumblers positioned themselves as premium lifestyle objects, RTIC sold comparable products for half the cost. Offices, construction sites, gym commuters, teachers, and medical workers adopted RTIC tumblers en masse. They became everyday tools rather than aspirational accessories.
RTIC also benefited from a shift in authenticity culture. Many consumers began rejecting premium price tags tied to branding rather than performance. RTIC leaned into its no nonsense persona. While YETI built a brand around lifestyle storytelling, rugged imagery, and aspirational outdoor identity, RTIC stayed grounded. Their message was simple, keep ice cold and drinks hot without paying luxury tax.
Another strategic advantage was geographic identity. RTIC embraced its Texas roots. Instead of polished corporate branding, it kept a straightforward, hardworking tone that resonated across the Gulf Coast, Midwest, and rural communities. This allowed the company to tap into a massive consumer base often overlooked by premium outdoor brands, people who fish off docks, not boats worth six figures, who camp in local state parks, not remote alpine wilderness.
By the early 2020s, RTIC had become one of the largest direct to consumer cooler brands in the United States. YETI had gone public, shifting toward lifestyle apparel and expanding into mainstream retail. RTIC stayed focused on value driven gear. Their customer loyalty deepened because they never abandoned the principle that started it all, offer high performance without the markup.
The story of RTIC reveals how markets shift when someone refuses to play by the existing rules. YETI defined the category. RTIC democratized it. In the process, the company proved that the outdoor gear industry was not just about ruggedness and performance but about accessibility, trust, and the simple satisfaction of buying something that works without emptying your wallet. The rise of RTIC is not just a business success, it is a case study in how a challenger brand can disrupt a powerhouse by listening more closely to the consumers left behind.
Editor’s Note: This article draws from documented reporting on RTIC’s founding, YETI’s market dominance, and the direct to consumer shift, presented as a composite narrative to illustrate the company’s rapid rise.
Sources & Further Reading:
– Business profiles of RTIC founders and early direct to consumer growth
– Legal filings and reporting on the YETI vs RTIC settlement
– Outdoor gear market analyses from 2015 to present
– Consumer behavior studies on price anchored branding in the outdoor sector
– Industry reporting on the rise of insulated drinkware and cooler innovation
(One of many stories shared by Headcount Coffee, where mystery, history, and late night reading meet.)
