MADE IN AUSTRALIA: Krush

Words: Will Shaw

Photos: Mike Blewitt

I spoke with Matt about KRUSH’s growth to date, as well as what’s next. After our chat I’m excited to see what the future holds for this Mansfield based operation!

AMB: When did you found KRUSH, and what was the motivation to begin the brand?

Matt: We’re in our sixth year. I grew up as a passionate Dirt Bike and BMX rider, and with both of those things there was always a passion to be outdoors riding. A bit later mountain biking came along for me, and it suited my interests perfectly. 

When I got into mountain biking, I began using Muc-Off to wash my bikes. It’d been around since the mid 90s and I loved what they did. The more I got into mountain biking though, I realised there was no Australian alternative for bike washing products, and I thought that was a gap in the market. 

I almost started a high-end car detailing business earlier in life, and I’ve always had a passion for looking after my cars and bikes. When I found the inspiration for KRUSH, my thinking was to design a range of products that were simple, easy, and enjoyable to use. I met with different companies to explain what I wanted the products to do.

We started with two products, our Premium Bike Wash and After Wash Bike Spray. They were what we saw as the critical elements of cleaning your bike, a bike wash that cleaned the bike without damaging it, and an after spray to disperse moisture and leave a protective film. 

We had big dreams from day one, and once we had the initial product, we launched the brand at Crankworx Rotorua. We sea freighted everything over for Crankworx 2016, 6 years ago. I remember driving to the event from the airport thinking ‘what the f*ck am I doing’.

AMB: On your website it says 98 percent of your products are made here in Australia and they’re even packaged in Mansfield?

Matt: Our products are proudly Australian made and packaged in Mansfield. I like to think that people buying our products are proud to buy Australian owned and made and support a company that’s supporting local jobs. 

We moved to Mansfield six years ago. We’re outdoor people and we love where we live. Logistically packaging in Mansfield doesn’t make a heap of sense sometimes. We’ve refined it to a place where we do it quite well though. We’d always planned to outsource the filling, but I like having the business in Mansfield. 

We have an automated filling line in Mansfield. Bikecorp place an order once a week and we load up a couple of pallets and drive it down. 

AMB: Tell us a bit about the manufacturing process, do you receive a certain amount of stock from your suppliers that’s planned, or can you adapt to increased demand easier as your products are being produced locally?

Matt: I’m constantly in touch with our suppliers. If we ever need stock of our raw materials, it’s only a phone call away, and I love running a business like that. I love the flexibility of dealing with local traders, and even the simple things like being in the same time zone. Sourcing our products locally does mean we can adapt faster than if we were importing products. 

When we started the brand, we had to build our team of people, and we had a bunch of meetings with chemical manufacturers. Our partners now are people we love working with, and when I need stock, they are super responsive. It’s a nice way to run a small business. 

A lot of people forget that building relationships is integral to a business, people often think just about the profit. Some businesses can be quite ruthless dealing with suppliers, but for all our partners it’s a beneficial relationship. 

AMB: Why would people use bike specific cleaners as opposed to generic cleaning products on the market? 

Matt: You come across people who use all sorts of things to clean their bikes. A lot of people will wash their Dirt Bike with CT18, but that stuff is way too aggressive for a mountain bike. A modern mountain bike is delicate and complex. It’s quite a fine balance for a product that will work properly but not flush grease from your pivots or damage your suspension.

Even humble dishwashing liquid, which is another product people like to use is meant to cut through grease, and on a mountain bike you want the grease to stay in your bearings. 

AMB: Are you continually refining your products, or are the products that are in market unlikely to change?

Matt: We’re happy with the core products. They’ve been in the marketplace for some time and the feedback we get is positive. One product we’ve refined is our chain lube, as that’s an area where there’s development occurring across the board. 

AMB: The KRUSH products I’ve seen in bike shops has increased dramatically in the last few years, is that reflected in your sales numbers?

Matt: The last two years with Covid has seen the mountain bike scene explode, and it’s been that way for us as well. The four years before that there was steady growth for KRUSH. From that first Crankworx I attended we sold all the stock we had, and I feel very happy about how people have received the product since we began. 

Over the years we’ve backed our brand up by attending lots of events. I think that people seeing us at events and getting to know the brand has been key to our growth.

AMB: Tell us a bit about your commitment towards 100% of your packaging being reusable, recyclable, or sustainable; what does this entail? 

Matt: Our biggest focus right now is changing the face of packaging our products. We’re looking at some cool packaging solutions to reduce our carbon footprint. 

We’ll have one of our products out in sustainable packaging by the end of the year. It’s easy to say working on better environmental outcomes is the bigger companies’ responsibility but I think if smaller companies like us are trying bigger companies will have no choice. 

People still like the ease of just buying a plastic bottle, but we’ve got around 30 refill stations around the country where you can refill your Krush bottle just as easily as buying a new one. To get people to start changing their behaviour is important to us, and our bike shops are doing a great job at getting the message out there. 

AMB: What can people look forward to from Krush in the future?

Matt: We’ve got a tyre sealant coming out early next year that’s been a ground up development. Developing your own product from the ground up is exciting, and I can’t wait to see what people think. 

AMB: Another thing that I see from KRUSH is partnerships with destinations, tell us a bit more about that?

Matt: When Maydena opened, we got in talks with Frenchy (Simon French) regarding coming on board as a park ambassador. I sent him a package of what we could offer, and he said he needed way more. It was a huge amount of product, but I think people love our free bike wash stations, it enhances their experience after they’ve been out for a great ride. 

We do these at Thredbo, Buller, Beechworth, Camp Crusty in Bright, and Maydena. 

AMB: KRUSH products are sold exclusively through stockists, why are stockists so important to you?

Matt: We pride ourselves on being stocked in bike shops. We’ve never sought a distributor, but in Australia Bikecorp have been awesome, believed in us, and do a great job with having our products in stores around Australia. We put a lot of work into our branding, and I think that’s shown well in bike shops. It still blows my mind every time I go into a bike shop and see our products on display. 

AMB: What is your proudest moment with Krush to date?

Matt: Without sounding too cheesy, the proudest moment is coming to work each day and for the most part enjoying what we’re doing. There’s days where it’s just a job, but most of the time we’re proud to have built our brand, and hopefully what we’re doing is making a difference and inspiring others.