320 | Turning Customers Into Your Best Marketers | with Brandon Horoho

Brandon Horoho is a brand builder, e-commerce strategist, and the driving force behind one of the most innovative American-made knife companies. As the Co-Founder, VP, and CMO of Montana Knife Company (MKC), he has transformed a niche product into a multi-million dollar brand with a cult following.

Before launching MKC, Brandon spent decades in e-commerce and product marketing, overseeing the launch of 1,500+ products across the outdoor and fitness industries. His expertise in community-driven marketing, scarcity-based sales models, and direct-to-consumer growth strategies has helped MKC scale rapidly—without relying on traditional advertising.

Today, Brandon is on a mission to redefine American-made manufacturing in the digital age. Under his leadership, MKC has built a passionate audience of hundreds of thousands, mastering sellout product drops, a unique VIP program, and customer-first engagement strategies. By focusing on transparency, quality, and people-first branding, he’s proving that DTC success isn’t just about sales—it’s about creating a movement.

In This Conversation We Discuss:

• [00:41] Intro
• [00:56] Exploring the evolution of product lines
• [01:56] Building a brand during the COVID lockdowns
• [05:05] Scaling from custom batches to forecasting demand
• [08:48] Mentoring young talent to grow the business
• [09:38] Using Instagram content to build brand recognition
• [12:30] Episode Sponsors: StoreTester and Intelligems
• [15:42] Managing a high return customer rate challenge
• [16:41] Turning loyal customers into brand ambassadors
• [19:32] The power of surprise in building brand loyalty
• [20:38] Scaling product drops with lean manufacturing
• [22:36] Forecasting product drops 8 months ahead
• [23:13] Avoiding pre-orders to build trust with customers
• [24:35] Leveraging American-made for authentic marketing

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• Working Knives For Working People montanaknifecompany.com/
• Follow Brandon Horoho linkedin.com/in/brandonhoroho/
• Book a demo today at intelligems.io/
• Done-for-you conversion rate optimization service storetester.com/

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!