When Rick Sanchez played golf in college with his friend, John Packes Jr., Packes always had a tee in his mouth. “He would say how disgusting it was,” remembers Sanchez. “It’s varnished, its painted, the paint would chip off and get in his mouth. He was a smoker, and trying not to smoke as much on the golf course. Just as a lot of people do who play golf, he had the habit of putting a tee in his mouth.”
Then revelation struck, like lightning on a stormy course. Packes asked, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a tee that was flavored?” He went on to tell Sanchez, “I’m going to invent this product, and you’re going to market it.” He came back a year later with a prototype. “It’s a bare wood tee, sterilized, with a flavor added,” says Sanchez, now chief marketing officer for Tasty Gold Tees LLC. “Just like a flavored toothpick. This is a golf-related item. People who get it, get it, and they love it. They say, ‘I always have something in my mouth, I’m always reaching for a tee, something to have in my mouth when I play golf, I have a nervous twitch, I’m trying to quit smoking.’ ”
The tees come in four flavors, and the company offers both starter kits and volume discounts. “We give any retailer wholesale pricing, and if you buy enough, we would even give distributor pricing,” says Sanchez. “We definitely have starter kits, and we’ll work with people on that.” The minimum order for bulk tees is four cases. Bags of 20 tees, for example, are priced at $269 per case, with 100 bags per case; those 20 tee bags retail for $5.99 per bag, the company suggests. Other prices are available online.
For more information:
Tasty Golf Tees, LLC
Tel.: 866-459-0053
Website: www.tastygolftees.com