Silver Lake-based home products manufacturer Graf Lantz is in growth mode, debuting a new product line and expanding into other markets. This growth, founders Holger Graf and Daniel Lantz said, is part of the company’s focus on becoming a lifestyle brand.

For Graf, who has a doctorate in glass technology, the push into glassware as a new product line makes sense. The company also has coasters, bags and other household products it makes and distributes through its website and third-party retailers.

While not disclosing revenue figures, Graf said the company was expecting to grow its sales by 25% this year.

By concentrating on the materials it uses, such as merino wool, Graf Lantz is expanding into complementary products such as a glassware collection named Glas. 

“We have the coasters that are color-coded with the glasses that can be used for hot and cold drinks,” Graf said.

The company is also growing geographically.

It is expanding its wholesale business into Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom, Graf said, adding, “We are already available worldwide via our (direct-to-consumer) channels.”

Graf Lantz already has distributors lined up in Canada and Japan, where it has an office.

“It is just following the popularity that we have,” Lantz said. “We are thriving on the attention that we are getting and moving that way.”

The company also receives a lot of orders from Australia. 

“We have a small team, so we need make sure we have all our ducks in a row before going into a new market,” he added. 

Sustainable materials

At Graf Lantz, it all starts with the material.

Namely the Merino wool felt it sources exclusively from mulesing-free farms in New Zealand, South Africa and South America. Mulesing is the process used by some sheep ranchers of cutting the skin from the buttocks of the sheep to prevent them from being killed by infections caused by insects.

The company’s founders are recognized as experts on high-quality wool felt, Lantz said. 

“We know how to talk about the materials that we use,” Lantz added. “It is the matter of creating this company that people know about and can trust and know who we are.”

In addition to Merino wool felt, the company also uses hand-dyed cotton canvas, vegetable-tanned leather, Peruvian alpaca fleece, biodegradable cotton and organic hemp.

The company’s new glassware products are crafted with borosilicate glass – a type of material that dates back to 19^th-century Germany and is known for its durability and ease of cleaning, Lantz said.

“With proper maintenance, cleaning and care, these glasses can last you a lifetime,” Lantz added.

Graf Lantz’s use of sustainable products is part of a bigger trend. 

The National Retail Federation reported that about 75% of people are looking for more information about the sustainable aspects of products they buy. 

“But I will caution you that what consumers say in surveys doesn’t always show up in the shopping cart,” said Scot Case, the vice president of corporate social responsibility and sustainability at the federation.

People also have different definitions of what makes something sustainable, which further complicates the issue, he added.

Still, he said he is seeing an increase in the purchase of sustainable products.

Starting off

Graf Lantz turns 15 this year, but it wasn’t always smooth sailing for its two founders, who met through a mutual friend when Lantz was in Germany on business. 

“Ironically, we got into an argument that first night,” Lantz recalled in a 2021 interview with Forbes magazine. “Holger was right and I was wrong, but it seemed to have sparked something. The rest is history.”

The pair moved to Los Angeles in 2009 and started Graf Lantz out of their West Hollywood apartment. The first products they made were wine totes and were helped by a large order from Dean & Deluca, an upscale culinary chain that has since declared bankruptcy. 

Next they tackled a tote, clutch and crossbody bags. Graf used his engineering skills, focusing on the structural nature of thick merino wool felt and various leathers, while Lantz provided design input, drawing on his love of Japanese aesthetics, Graf said.

They source their nontoxic and chemical-free dyes from Okeo-Tex, a Zurich, Switzerland-based certifier of textile and leather products and production.

In the Forbes interview, Lantz said that their most popular item were the coasters made from the wool felt. The company sold 15,000 sets of coasters in 2020, and during 2021 sold 9,000 trivets and 7,000 placemats, he added.

During the pandemic, the company pivoted to making face masks, which were written up in such publications as the Chicago Tribune, Readers Digest and the New York Times.

“We were delighted with this recognition because we designed and developed our face masks like everything else we do – with endless research and testing to execute a high-quality product we are happy to put our name on,” Lantz told Forbes.

While the sale of the masks has slowed – they at one time made up 60% to 70% of the company’s revenue – the company still sells them. 

Graf Lantz products sell at its website for as low as $3 for a face mask lanyard to $425 for a Merino wool felt tote bag. 

“If you make things that last, that is an ability that we have had that has grown our company’s business,” Lantz said.