Cody Grandadam didn't take the traditional path to building a multi-million dollar lighting brand. The founder and CEO of Promier Products launched his company at age 24 with negative money, turning a passion for relationship-building into a business that now develops high-powered portable lights like 100,000-lumen flashlights. He shares how his Peru, Illinois team designs enthusiast-grade lights for brands like Kodiak and LitezAll, navigates overseas manufacturing realities, and revitalized a historic 400,000-square-foot factory complex.
In this episode:
- Why launching a single high-volume account beats knocking on hundreds of individual doors
- How Promier Products designs multi-use flashlights featuring magnetic bases, UV LEDs, and 100,000 lumens
- Why price points and rapid 6-month product release cycles keep flashlight production overseas for now
- How tariff spikes hit retail margins and why Promier Products chose to absorb millions in costs
- How success in the flashlight business funded the revival of the historic Westclocks building in Peru, Illinois
- Why specialized product positioning helps independent brands outshine legacy competitors on store shelves
About Cody Duane Grandadam:
Cody Duane Grandadam is the founder and CEO of Promier Products, headquartered in Peru, Illinois. Promier Products designs and distributes consumer portable lighting, including pocket lights, headlamps, task lights, and high-output enthusiast flashlights under brands like LitezAll and Kodiak. Operating out of the historic Westclocks factory facility, the company engineers and packages its product lines in the US for distribution into major national retail chains. Cody started the company in 2011 and has expanded its footprint to cover dozens of domestic team members alongside global manufacturing partners.
Website:
About What's Made in the USA:
What's Made in the USA is hosted by Carl Holden of Zellus Marketing, a technical SEO agency in Huntsville, Alabama that gets American manufacturers ranking on Google and AI search for the exact products they make. Each episode is a conversation with an owner or operator about what their company makes, how they make it, and how they built the business behind it. https://whatismadeintheusapodcast.com https://www.zellusmarketing.com
Subscribe to the channel and watch the full video to see how American product designers are building national brands.
Topics covered:
portable lighting, flashlights, LED flashlights, 18650 battery cells, product design, retail distribution, trademarking, manufacturing tariffs
Chapters:
0:00 Flashlight innovation and lumens overview
1:27 Starting the company and brand origins
4:48 Early sales journey and retail strategy
8:50 Team culture and company footprint
11:39 Design process and overseas manufacturing
16:42 Direct to consumer versus retail
23:31 Impact of tariffs on retail pricing
28:25 Scaling market share and buyer relationships
33:07 Travel memories and advice for professionals
