TapouT Continuing To Stay Synonymous With Hot MMA Market

MMA has become "almost as mainstream as boxing -- and TapouT's block-letter logo has become synonymous with the sport," according to Michal Lev-Ram of CNNMONEY.com. TapouT sponsors "well known fighters" like Vladimir "The Janitor" Matyushenko and Thiago "Pitbull" Alves and "sells clothing, mouth guards, nutritional supplements and other branded goods online and at retail chains including Macy's and Champs Sports." The company last year "raked in $200 million in annual revenue -- more than 16 times its $12 million revenue" in '06. Customers claim the "early relationship the company developed with both fighters and fans" helps TapouT "keep the mixed martial arts market in a headlock." The company in the late '90s "sponsored fledgling fighters for $300 a pop," but sponsorships currently "cost anywhere from $3,000 to $1 million." Lev-Ram noted the company's "mass appeal among fans" is "mainly from the sought-after 18- to 34-year-old male demographic." The company hired Marc Kreiner in '06 and "he helped bring TapouT products to over 20,000 stores worldwide." He also "inked a handful of licensing agreements, including a line of TapouT-branded supplements with Champion Nutrition." Kreiner, now TapouT President & Chair, said, "We're licensing a nutrition line, energy drinks and TapouT gyms" (CNNMONEY.com, 8/18).