Chill Factor Performance has been operating out of a nondescript, unlabeled industrial warehouse in Fort Myers for more than 15 years.
Inside the warehouse at 2119 Fowler St., owner Kenny Collins presides over a business that prints logos and branding on an array of products designed to keep people—and things—cool. Those products are sold or given away as marketing tools, he said, at places such as drag races, Miami Dolphins football games, corporate events and mass gatherings outside when temperatures soar.
Chill Factor also brands automobile components for race cars, chill bags designed to help professional athletes prevent or recover from heat exhaustion and cool head gear that can be draped over an athlete’s head. That head gear, he said, is branded by his company for more than 40 Division I college programs.
As the heat of the summer arrives, Collins is looking for ways to take these national products to the local level in Southwest Florida.
“High school and Pop Warner football teams,” Collins said. “We would put their number on it, and this is theirs.”
By “this,” Collins means cool ties, which are Chill Factor’s top-selling product. Cool ties are branded in the Chill Factor print shop and water-cooling crystals are then added before they are packaged and prepared for distribution.
Cool ties need to be unwrapped and submerged in cool water for 30 –to 45 minutes, during which they expand. Then they must be cooled—not frozen—for 15 to 20 minutes before being ready to use.
“We’re a company that specializes in body-cooling apparel,” Collins said. “We make a lot of apparel to keep you more comfortable out in the heat. We’re trying to prevent heat illnesses and heat stroke.”
Collins has branded cool ties for major companies, including Ford, Kia, Honda and Verizon. But he has yet to find a niche for his products in Southwest Florida. He’s hoping to change that by stepping up his own marketing efforts.
The cool ties, he said, are a great marketing tool. A local high school football team, for example, could partner with a business and print cool ties for fans and even the players, Collins said.
The average order of cool ties is 2,500 pieces, Collins said. He sells them by the dozen and prefers to sell them in batches of 48, which costs $192, which amounts to $4 each.
“Everything can be custom made,” Collins said. “We can put your logo, name, team, Happy Birthday, anniversary, anything you like on them.
“What we need to do is get involved with the local community. Everybody knows us through the colleges and race car tracks. But nobody really knows us here locally.
“Absolutely it’s a marketing tool. You can use it for promotions, and it’s a safety item. That’s the main thing. We don’t want anybody getting heat illnesses and passing out and having issues with heat.”
