Idaho

In Ketchum, a hotspot for outdoor adventurers, contractors, and workers in all kinds of trades, DECKED’s founders discovered a popular DIY hack in truck beds–and a business opportunity. “For years, people were building their own plywood drawers because there wasn’t a product on the market,” explains DECKED's Vice President of E-commerce Taylor Straley. “We wanted to fix the typical disorganized junk show of tools and gear and solve a real problem.” Starting from a sketch on a napkin, DECKED launched in 2014 with a commitment to American manufacturing. Now, they sell their truck bed drawer system, CargoGlide sliding trays, and organizers and accessories on their website and in over 2,000 retail stores nationwide.

DECKED launched their YouTube channel soon after their business, and they share everything from customer stories to how-to videos with their 38,000 subscribers. “It’s been really powerful having a space to not only serve short-form content in the discovery phase but also long-form content in the educational and post-purchase phase that provides value to our customers,” Taylor says. They began using Google Ads in 2018; along with YouTube Ads they account for about 30 percent of their customers. Their campaigns have evolved with Google, from Search and Discovery to Performance Max. “Not only does Performance Max help us serve the customer with the correct product for them, it also provides them that critical touchpoint of video or imagery to capitalize on what we’re talking about,” Taylor says. Revenue grew by 40 percent in 2024, with year-over-year growth at 50 percent. Taylor says DECKED’s goals are simple: Keep providing exceptional American-made products. “People love their trucks,” she says. “Being made in America allows us to better serve our customers and to really oversee our product quality. Our goal is to build for tomorrow, to constantly innovate and improve.”

Poppy & Pout co-founder Derek Cooper had just graduated from college with degrees in marketing and graphic design when he noticed a gap in the lip balm market. “I’d seen ‘eco-friendly’ lip balms, but I didn’t see beautiful, recyclable packaging,” he recalls. Derek experimented until he hit upon a simple formula based on organic coconut oil, ethically sourced beeswax, and other natural ingredients. He then joined forces with classmate Krysta Morgan to design eye-catching, fully recyclable cardboard tubes. In 2014, the two launched Poppy & Pout’s e-commerce site and began distributing their handmade lip balms to retailers. Over the last four years, the company has doubled revenue every year, and is now sold by close to 5,000 independent retailers as well as national brands.

Poppy & Pout keeps business flowing smoothly with Google Workspace tools. “It’s a no-brainer for so many different uses, like Google Drive to store all of our designs and photos, and keeping things organized,” Derek says. Adds Krysta, "If it's not in my calendar, it's not going to get done. It has to be set in stone on my Google Calendar." With Google Sheets, Poppy & Pout monitors company finances, manufacturing, and quality control. “For quality control, our production team uses Google Sheets to track batch numbers for hundreds of thousands of lip balms so we can see how many products were affected if a mistake is made,” Krysta says. In 2021, Derek and Krysta opened an Idaho Falls boutique next door to the production facility; they set up a Google Business Profile at the same time. It’s received nearly 10,000 impressions in the last six months. The store allows Derek and Krysta to foster deeper relationships with the community and they continue to hire locally to expand their team. Says Krysta: “We’ll always be based in Idaho Falls. We have zero plans to stop or slow down!”

It all started with a beat up 1979 Fleetwood Wilderness languishing in Carina DeHoff’s backyard. Carina was busy running her water systems company, her then-boyfriend and now-husband John DeHoff was active duty in the military, and neither had any experience with RVs. “It took us about a year to get this thing functioning and somewhat restored,” says John. “Then it sold in two days.” The two fell in love with flipping RVs, and what began as a hobby morphed into Leisureland RV Center, which they founded in November 2014. Purchasing pre-owned RVs at auction and repairing them to the highest standard, John, Carina, and what’s grown to 27 team members serve around 500 customers a year all over the Western U.S.

The independent dealership is located on a secondary road, so the DeHoffs miss out on the drive-by-traffic that nearby dealerships on Highway 84 rely upon. Instead, they’ve turned to Google tools to help support a new model. “We are at least 80 to 90 percent internet traffic,” says John. “The internet is our Highway 84.” Leisureland attracted nearly 29,000 customers in a single month through their Google Business Profile where they post inventory, communicate with customers, and utilize reviews. Meanwhile, Google Ads helps Leisureland increase brand awareness, particularly in surrounding states, driving around 30 percent of sales. Nearly all new customers come from online leads, propelling 518 percent growth in 2021 and consistent 20 to 50 percent growth year-over-year since the company’s inception. The DeHoffs envision opening another location or two within the next five years. “We are going to continue to grow this company using the power of the internet,” says John, “and we don't need that Highway 84.”

Jim McCauley began selling industrial containers in Eagle in 1971. From farmers to physicists, if the hard-working people of Idaho needed their products saved, stored, or shipped, they trusted Jim. After helping to grow the business for years, he purchased the company from his partner in 1987 and renamed it Container & Packaging Supply. Over 30 years later, the family-owned business now provides packing and logistical solutions to thousands of customers around the world. “Our real goal is helping ideas come to life,” explains Director of Marketing David Jenson. “We handle the container sourcing, packaging, and logistics, so that companies can focus on what matters most: making their business happen.”

Because of Jim’s willingness to embrace new technology, his son Jeff McCauley launched Container and Packaging’s first e-commerce website in 2002. They began using AdWords, Google’s advertising program, shortly thereafter to drive traffic to the new site. “We were immediately surprised by the number of orders and the geographic diversity of our new customers,” Jim recalls. At the time, Container and Packaging had most of their salespeople on the road, serving customers in Idaho, Montana, and Utah. “We had assumed that it wasn’t feasible to do business with customers more than a few hundred miles away from our warehouse,” he adds. Container and Packaging has since grown well beyond the Mountain States. Today they have satisfied customers in all 50 states and over 70 countries worldwide.

Container and Packaging now serves thousands of clients every year. They own and operate two fulfillment centers in Salt Lake City and Louisville, and they feature over 2,200 varieties of products. For the ownership team, however, the company’s greatest growth goes beyond the numbers. “We have an opportunity to go after something more meaningful than increased revenue and profits; we have a chance to build a community,” Jeff shares. “That’s why our greatest goal is to help individuals within our company develop into their best selves. We believe that stronger individuals make strong families, and strong families build stronger communities.”