Sun Bum: Tom Rinks. The Secrets of a Master Brand Builder (2023)

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: Tom Rinks’ path to Sunbum traces a career built on design-first branding, opportunistic hustle, and instinct for cultural signals—from selling Michigan-themed shirts to creating Taco Bell’s Chihuahua campaign, fighting a years-long legal battle, and finally turning a weak sunscreen concept into a premium, highly recognizable brand. Sunbum’s success came from deliberate packaging, mascot design, distribution strategy, and an authentic beach/surf identity.

Main Topics: Early sales training and creative instincts (Priority: 5/5): Rinks’ furniture-sales years taught him how to read customers, sell ideas, and treat branding like a performance driven by audience psychology. Building an apparel business from a single idea (Priority: 5/5): He turned a joke t-shirt about surfing in Michigan into a side business, then scaled via college licensing and apparel trade shows. Psycho Chihuahua and the Taco Bell legal battle (Priority: 5/5): Rinks and Joe Shields created the Chihuahua concept and commercial direction for Taco Bell, then sued after the company used the idea without compensation, resulting in a long, stressful lawsuit and eventual payout. Branding as emotional design (Priority: 5/5): Across t-shirts, tequila, Christian media, and sunscreen, Rinks argues consumers buy products for how they make them feel, making design and mascot strategy central to growth. Sunbum’s invention and visual identity (Priority: 5/5): Sunbum emerged from rejecting weak initial concepts and rebuilding around wood grain packaging, a yellow/wood-toned palette, and an ape mascot influenced by surf culture, mid-century design, and streetwear. Distribution, scarcity, and trade-show buzz (Priority: 4/5): Sunbum’s growth depended on grassroots sticker campaigns, compelling displays, selective retail placement, and early validation from surf shops, hotels, and influential buyers. Scaling, leadership transition, and exit (Priority: 4/5): Rinks eventually stepped back from CEO duties, brought in experienced leadership, and sold Sunbum to SC Johnson when international expansion and regulatory complexity made a larger partner necessary.

Key Arguments: Design and branding can matter more than price or product parity when consumers choose between similar goods. A single strong visual concept can launch a business if it captures culture, emotion, and repeatable recognition. Knowing what customers want to feel is as important as knowing what the product does. Authenticity matters: Sunbum succeeded because it felt like a real beach/surf brand, not a generic sunscreen. A founder may be best suited to creative direction rather than operational management as a company scales. Persistence and legal resolve can matter as much as creativity in protecting intellectual property and getting compensated.

Data Points: Sunbum valuation at sale: $400 million - Reported sale to SC Johnson in 2019 Taco Bell jury award: $30.1 million - Damages awarded to Rinks and Joe Shields after the federal trial Taco Bell interest award: $12 million - Additional interest awarded after the verdict Legal battle length: 5 years - Length of the Taco Bell lawsuit before final resolution Sunbum year-one revenue: $100,000 - Revenue in the brand’s first year Sunbum year-two revenue: $1.1 million - Revenue in the second year after launch Number of licenses held by New Agenda: 400+ - Rinks’ apparel licensing business accumulated this many licenses over time Initial Surf Michigan order: 1,800 t-shirts - The first major order from Meyer buyer Vivian Dreyer University of Michigan shirt sales: 10,000 shirts - Sales of Slam Dance during the Michigan basketball run Original Taco Bell settlement offer at trial: a few million dollars - Offer made just before the federal trial began Taco Bell revenue split estimate: 33% lawyers, 25% agent, remainder split with Joe - Rinks explains how the eventual payout was divided Start of Sunbum: 2009-2010 - Rinks describes the brand-building process beginning around 2009 and launch in 2010 Sunbum move to California: 2014 - Company later relocated from Michigan to California Sunbum acquisition year: 2019 - SC Johnson purchase of Sunbum

Pivotal Quotes: "I told him it was never going to make it. None of them were going to make it. They were horrible." — Tom Rinks: On the original sunscreen concepts before he rebranded Sunbum "I got it. But he had said that before a couple of times, right? But I could hear it in his voice, I got it." — Tom Rinks: On Renee Kennetti arriving at the final Sunbum mascot design "I flexed by doing the work, and I felt really good about that." — Tom Rinks: On why he avoided public visibility despite building major brands

Implications: The episode shows how brand-building, not just product engineering, can create outsized value. For founders, it’s a case study in design, distribution, and knowing when to scale with the right operators.