Meet AXIL Brands: Fly exclusive interview with CEO Jeff Toghraie

In an exclusive interview, AXIL Brands (AXIL) CEO Jeff Toghraie met again with The Fly to discuss the company, its products, the current economic climate and much more.

HEARING ENHANCEMENT, PROTECTION: AXIL Brands is an emerging global consumer products company. The company is a manufacturer and marketer of premium hearing enhancement and protection products, including ear plugs, earmuffs, and ear buds, under the AXIL brand and premium hair and skincare products under its in-house Reviv3 brand – selling products in the United States, Canada, the European Union, and throughout Asia.

“Our products protect against harmful noise levels by compressing the sounds. Anything over 85 decibels, our systems compress that sound by enhancing normal sound. If you’re in an environment where you need to have situational awareness, you have to be able to communicate with people, our system allows for that communication while at the same time protecting your hearing. And there’s many applications in manufacturing, security services, law enforcement, military that can use this application as, you know, environments where you can be susceptible to hearing damage,” CEO Jeff Toghraie explained to The Fly.

STRATEGIC FOCUS: The company announced recently its strategic focus on expanding offline retail presence and penetrating international markets as part of its 18-month marketing initiatives. “In 2023, about 90%-plus of our revenue was all from our online platform. We felt that you’ll have a better quality of revenue if you have a mix of online, offline, international, and government contracts. And from back in early 2024, we made a few strategic moves. We had some tier one partnerships with NASCAR, Six Hour, U.S. Olympic team was the primary supplier for their hearing protection. We just had Monster Jam IP as their hearing protection company. So, it made a lot of sense to start moving offline as a natural progression for our growth strategy in the civilian space. Since 2023 until now, we have had over 1,200 points of sale that are carrying our products, and we’re looking to significantly increase that number in 2025, as well as moving most of our efforts into government and our EU initiative selling internationally,” the executive explained.

PARTNERSHIPS: In February, AXIL said it had entered into a multi-year licensing agreement with Feld Entertainment and Monster Jam. The company also has a partnership with NASCAR. “Being able to have tier one partnerships with recognizable global brands goes a long way in growth, allowing people to understand the name and the branding, and having people realize that these companies do a great deal of due diligence and independent research. And if we are the company that they’re partnering with, it builds a lot of credibility,” Toghraie said.

MANUFACTURING IN U.S.: Looking out over the remainder of the year, AXIL’s CEO highlighted the importance of hearing protection for certain military occupations. “We’ve had products in development now that we believe can address a several segments of that market. And because of that focus, since early 2024, we’ve started laying the groundwork to bring most of our manufacturing to the United States. This wasn’t a response to the tariffs. Back in February of 2024, there was really no discussion of tariffs. But as it turned out, I think it’s going to be a key benefit for us if we’re first to market and if we’re producing the products in the United States.”
The executive explained that the company had done it for a couple of reasons. “It does accelerate our timeline as far as creating new products. But I also think it gives us a key advantage in the long term given that although we want these tariffs and the situation to work out as quickly as possible, we’re going under the presumption that, at least in the Southeast and East Asia regions, some sort of attacks or tariffs will persist.”

Discussing the current economic climate and macro uncertainty, Toghraie further stated that, “We are currently navigating an economic period that may bring volatility for many, with the tariff situation potentially leading to a variety of impacts and implications. Drawing from my experience, I’ve successfully managed through national and global financial fluctuations in the past, often finding significant opportunities during such times.”

FAST-PACED GROWTH COMPANY: While AXIL’s work and products may be easy to understand, the CEO believes there are some misunderstandings surrounding the company. “People look at us as a company that is a growth company, but in fact we’re more or less a startup in that sense. We’re more of a fast-paced growth company. I think it’s very important to look at our long-term picture and our full potential because it’s way, above what our current earnings is.”

Meet the Company” is The Fly’s recurring series of exclusive short interviews with Executive Officers to offer a deeper look inside the company.