When he was playing baseball for his high school in Idaho, Dean Herkenrath saw his teammates slipped little nicotine pouches in their gums in the dugout.
It was not uncommon for athletes, from high school to the pros, to use the nicotine pouches for a short buzz before games. But Herkenrath couldn’t help but think there had to be a healthier alternative that would simulate the feel of traditional nicotine pouches while eliminating the addictive chemicals.
That’s when he got the idea for Deckiez, a pouch that substitutes caffeine for nicotine.
“It took two years of research and design,” said Herkenrath, a University of Arizona entrepreneurship freshman.
His research included working with food scientists to test natural sweeteners, flavor extracts and pouch materials to balance taste with function. It took dozens of prototypes before they landed on a formula using clean, plant-based ingredients.
“The hardest part was fitting 40 milligrams of caffeine and vitamins into a pouch without ruining the flavor,” he said.
When he couldn’t find a factory in North America that would produce it, Herkenrath turned to one in Denmark that used encapsulation techniques to mask any bitterness and ensure a clean release from the pouch.
“The name ‘Deckiez’ alludes to how the pouch fits in the upper or lower ‘deck’ of the mouth,” said Herknerath, who, with the support of his family, built the venture in high school. “My family kept me going. My parents gave advice and my sister Kat helped with everything from packing orders to running promos.”
Deckiez is now available in over 2,000 retailers, including online at Walmart and Amazon and was featured on “Entrepreneur’s Elevator Pitch,” an online business reality show in which entrepreneurs present their ideas to venture capitalists to demonstrate why their company is worth investing in.
It also got some exposure at the University of Arizona when Deckiez sponsored a Zeta Beta Tau party with rapper Da Baby.
Deckiez has signed more than 30 NIL contracts with college athletes and is working with the Creative Artist Agency to promote them to professionals. The president of USA Baseball also has expressed interest in working with Deckiez, Herkenrath said.
He said he hopes to eventually sell the company so that the brand can be expanded internationally.
“People already know what Deckiez means,” he said.
In addition to retail sales, Deckiez is available at Deckiez.com.
Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.
