John Saunders, a bar manager at Black Mountain Burger Co. in Lincoln, and his wife hit the hiking trails as often as they can. And while they love getting outdoors in the White Mountains to hike, kayak and ski, what they don’t love so much are the insect bites that come with the great outdoors.
“Black flies and mosquitoes can ruin the day,” says Saunders. “We started to question what we were really dousing ourselves with.” What he found were plenty of chemicals and in 2017, he began researching natural alternatives.
That’s when he discovered essential oils and began testing different combinations on trips not only through the White Mountains during black fly season but Sanibel Island, Florida; Hunting Island, S.C. and the Mahoosuc Mountains in Maine.
A year later, he developed a spray with essential oils from cedar wood, lavender, rosemary and citronella with grapeseed oil and distilled water that friends and family could not get enough of, Saunders says.
Manufacturing from his home in Woodstock, Saunders launched his new product as Bond Cliff Bug Protection and started selling through his Facebook page. Sales have steadily grown and in 2018, he began selling in local stores and online. He amassed a following among rock climbers, who he says like that “it is not too oily.”
While the business had to temporarily hit the pause button during the pandemic due to supply chain issues, Saunders says sales have continued to climb since, and 2023 is proving to be his best sales year, selling 3,000 bottles over the summer.
“We’re currently in 15 stores in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont and New York,” he says. “We even have some stores where they exclusively sell our brand.” Store sales account for 65% of business, and Saunders plans to expand to more stores in 2024.
Current Issue - May 2024