Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Lubker.
Hi Ryan, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The general overview of my story is that while I was in college in 2020 at The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), I created a decorative craft project for fun in the Maker Space of the Manufacturing program I was studying in. The decorative project was a 3d model deer head made from beer boxes. I put it on my wall and posted a quick video on social media. It went viral pretty much instantly with thousands of comments asking me to make more and sell them. I jumped on the opportunity and began accepting pre-orders, setting up manufacturing, fulfillment and all other nectary infrastructure and began promoting and selling even more of them. At the time, I was also an ambassador for a small SC-based company called Kanga Coolers, and I promoted their cooler products online and around campus. I continued selling the wall mount products, dubbed “Beer Deer” online for the next 2-3 years and even expanded distribution into retail, landing large retailers like Bass Pro Shops and Cabella’s while still in college. During this time, I also spent a lot of time at trade shows and industry events around the country, and strengthened my relationship with Kanga Coolers, as they attended all of the same shows and events. Shortly after graduating, I exited the business and moved to Nashville, TN, spending 3 years in a corporate job doing IT Project Management. I stayed in touch with the Kanga team through those years, then in spring of 2025 I was presented with the opportunity to re-acquire the business that I had spent 3 years regretting leaving. I called up Logan, Austin and Ryan at Kanga and presented them with the proposal to take on Beer Deer together and they were all in on the idea. Shortly thereafter, in May of 2025, I quit my job and moved to South Carolina to pursue Beer Deer and Kanga full time. The brand has seem remarkable growth in the past 10 months with notable achievements such as expanding retail presence in both independent and big box retailers, product line expansion including the addition of 5 new products so far, improved brand awareness and sales efficiency, and most importantly, I have begun implementing a plan to bring the manufacturing of all of our wall mounts to the US. We have begun transitioning manufacturing to a facility right here in Greenville SC (Fountain Inn more specifically), and by the end of 2026 our wall mounts will be 100% made in the USA.
I’m sure I’m leaving out important details but that’s the story in a nutshell
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The first main obstacle was trying to capture the viral moment and opportunity. If I set up manufacturing and supply chain logistics, ordered inventory, then started selling the products, the viral post I had made that started it all would have faded into the background of peoples’ minds and it wouldn’t have been an effective launch. I had to capture the moment and begin accepting pre-orders, but that came with an enormous challenge, as I was a college student with no experience, and I had accepted money for products that I had no idea how to make at scale. In a very short window, with pressure from a lot of people, I had to learn how to turn my idea into a bonafide product, and turn that product into a business.
There were plenty of other struggles along the way such as a nearly missed Christmas delivery window in our first year, the time that we received an entire cargo load of defective products, and general growing pains of trying to learn how to run a company directly from the drivers seat, but the biggest challenge was watching the brand evolve from the outside looking in after I relinquished control and ownership.
That challenge helped me reflect and realize what I did right and wrong and how I would have done things differently, so when I returned to the helm last year, I did so with a whole new perspective that has allowed for continued success.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Beer Deer makes 3D taxidermy style animal mounts designed with the packaging of popular beer brands. Our mounts are sold and shipped flat and then assembled like a puzzle so it is a hybrid of an activity and DIY decor. We started with a simple deer mount but have expanded to offer a full line of animals and beer brands from land animals like Deer and Longhorn, to birds like Eagles or Ducks and even fish like our Bass or Marlin. We have also recently expanded beyond just making 3d cardboard wall mounts designed with the artwork of beer boxes, by introducing our line of stainless steel tabletop animal puzzles designed with the artwork from beer cans.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I expect the industry to be stable, but we will continue to innovate and grow larger within our space. We have a lot of innovative ideas to introduce over the next couple of years and we see a very strong path ahead
Pricing:
- Our wall mount products are all $39.95
Contact Info:
- Website: https://beerdeerusa.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beerdeerusa/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebeerdeer/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanlubker/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeerDeerUSA1
