At FrictionLabs, we believe the future of climbing is in the gym! Our mission is to show the climbing world that Chalk Matters – and we know that our retail partners need to be successful for that to happen.
For most gyms, success comes down to two things:
- A great gym environment.
- A great business model.
Since starting FrictionLabs in 2014, one of our core values has always been to help support gyms in these areas. We engineer our products not only for the success of climbers, but also climbing as a sport.
We do this by making the highest purity chalk in our facilities in Denver, Colorado.
We understand that there’s a lot of skepticism around the idea of “better chalk.” To make sure our gym partners know they have our support, we offer a no questions asked buy back program. You can try selling our chalk risk free and if it doesn’t work out, we’ll buy it back. We’ve been in business for a couple years now and nobody has ever had to use it.
Why?
1. We help you create a great gym environment.
Chalk is essential to our sport, but often you’re left with a costly mess that needs to be tended to daily.
Dust in the air not only makes your gym and retail shop look sloppy, it also creates an environment that doesn’t align with healthy living. That’s why successful fitness studios (weightlifting/cardio, CrossFit, yoga/pilates/barre, etc.) go to such extremes to create the impression of a clean environment.
Some climbing gyms attempt to solve this problem by banning loose chalk, but that doesn’t do much to stop how much dust gets kicked up every time someone lands on the mats. And we all know that an army of chalk-eaters and round-the-clock filter changers would hardly make a dent at a busy gym.
FrictionLabs helps gyms by:
- Using science to engineer chalk that lasts longer. Most users report re-chalking about half as often when using FrictionLabs. The easiest way to prevent chalk in the air is to reduce how often people use chalk.
- Making chalk dust healthier for lungs and skin. We remove impurities, drying agents, heavy metals, and other fillers commonly found in traditional chalk. Without banning chalk, it’s impossible to totally get rid of dust, but it is possible to make it healthier.
Our chalk keeps your gym looking clean and looking after the health and wellbeing of your members. Your employees will also appreciate a healthier environment and less chalk to clean up.
2. We help you build a strong business.
If you run a gym with a retail store, you know that your sales are directly correlated with your foot traffic. The more people coming through the doors, the higher your sales. This relationship is especially true for consumables like chalk, food, and drinks.
Yes, these products seem like small dollars compared to selling a piece of gear. If you’re like most shops though, you go through a lot more volume, which creates a great opportunity for profit. Unfortunately, this is where many shops miss out on potential profit that would help them reinvest in and improve their businesses.
Most gyms have traditionally sold the standard 2oz block of chalk for $1-$3. They typically make 30%-50% margins, meaning $0.30-$1.50 of profit every time they sell a block. At those prices, you have to sell a lot of chalk before you have enough to reinvest in a box of fresh, new holds your members will be excited about. That’s why gyms have traditionally viewed chalk as a throwaway product, offering it as more of a convenience than a meaningful part of the business.
At FrictionLabs, all of our chalk products (including our loose chalk blends and our Magic Chalk Ball) retail for between $5 and $25. As a retailer, you earn the same or higher profit margins you’re used to making with traditional chalk. Would you rather make 30-50% margins on a $2 product or a $5-$25 product?
Some people doubt that climbers will pay those prices for chalk, but we’ve seen over and over again that climbers value and are willing to pay for a high quality product made in the USA. That’s another reason we feel comfortable offering our buyback guarantee.
For every 50 FrictionLabs chalk sales, you could be making an extra $500+ in profit compared to if you had sold traditional $2 chalk. Our chalk is designed to help your business realize those profits and give you more money to reinvest into making your gym the best in town.
Experience the difference
Hopefully by now we’ve given you enough information to make you curious enough to try it risk free. Not only do we offer the buyback guarantee, we also have no minimum order size, so you can test it out as small as you’d like. Our chalk ships next day from our warehouse in Denver, Colorado.
To help you be successful, FrictionLabs will include a free chalk demo kit with your first order. Your staff and customers can experience the chalk first hand and feel the difference for themselves. We also provide training for your team to answer common questions.
That’s it for us! If you’d like to try FrictionLabs in your store, please just let us know at info@frictionlabs.com. We have a full range of hand products including loose chalk, chalk balls, a chalk cream, and a hydrating, wax-free hand cream.
This story was paid for and produced by the sponsor and does not necessarily represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.
Climbing Business Journal is an independent news outlet dedicated to covering the indoor climbing industry. Here you will find the latest coverage of climbing industry news, gym developments, industry best practices, risk management, climbing competitions, youth coaching and routesetting. Have an article idea? CBJ loves to hear from readers like you!
