Vapouround magazine Special Issue 03 | Page 82

F E AT U R E It’s a warm, bright day in June when Trey Whitaker and Drew Swanson pull up outside of a vape shop in Seattle, Washington. They’ve driven here from Atlanta, Georgia, a distance of over 2,500 miles, not for a big convention or to meet with a huge distributor, but for the same reasons they have gone to 47 other states: To meet the owners and managers of vape shops face to face, and offer them a chance to sell Bomb Sauce. They walk in with a case of tester devices and a “starter box” -- a varied selection of their most popular flavors in several nicotine strengths -- and, just as they’ve done 4000 other times over the course of the past year and a half, they walk out with a new wholesale account. 82 VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE USA Selling door-to-door is not a new concept, but tell that to the E-liquid industry. As far as I can gather, Bomb Sauce were the first to start doing it back in April of 2015. It took some time to get the logistics sorted out, but after the first couple of months they had put together a formula that worked: One team of two guys, crisscrossing the country for weeks at a time. It seems to be an effective strategy if you have the right guys, and Drew and Trey definitely fit the bill. Trey is a tall, solidly built man who might inspire intimidation if it weren’t for his disarming warmth. He is charismatic, with a strong hand