Melin
Opportunity
Melin created the premium headwear category, but as the market matured and competition grew, the brand needed to sharpen its story and solidify its leadership. Our task was to help Melin evolve beyond a product-driven narrative into a brand with lasting emotional and cultural relevance.
We began with a full audit and discovery process, leading to a new brand framework that redefined Melin’s purpose, mission, and promise. We gave deeper meaning to their long-held mantra, "Have More Fun," transforming it from a casual phrase into a powerful philosophy about inspiring people to do more of what they love. We also built out their corporate values, ensuring internal alignment and a stronger cultural foundation for future growth.
In addition, we researched and developed a distinct positioning for Melin’s new women’s line—establishing a clear identity and opportunity within the premium active lifestyle category. The result: a more focused, emotionally resonant, and future-proof Melin, ready to defend and expand its leadership in the premium headwear space.
Client
Melin
Scope
Category Strategy
Brand Blueprint
Brand Bible
Product Positioning










Chris and the CAPTAIN team came highly recommended by a close friend and fellow brand founder. I had high expectations having been through several brand builds in my career and feeling like I had a pretty good start. Needless to say I was slightly skeptical and was very pleasantly surprised. Chris’s approach is very unique and it’s obvious he’s been refining and iterating on his strategy for a very long time. He brought an incredibly valuable internal team perspective into the formalization of our “brand house,” and we worked closely for months dialing in our framework.
The results were exceptional and have had an immediate and ongoing impact on my ability to manage and create alignments within my growing team.
I have since referred CAPTAIN to several brand founders and have had consistent extremely satisfied responses to his work for them as well.
I plan to continue to refer Chris and keep him involved as a critical, high-value piece of my most trusted team.
Brian McDonell
CEO & Founder
melin
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