What Liquid Blue does

Liquid Blue, operating under LB Retail LLC, is a US-based wholesaler and retailer of tie-dye apparel built on officially licensed entertainment and sports IP. Founded in 1987 and headquartered at 6 Linlew Drive in Derry, New Hampshire, the company designs, dyes, and prints its garments domestically using heavy-duty 100% cotton materials, employing a proprietary tie-dye production process designed to minimize shrinkage and produce durable, vibrant prints across garment styles from t-shirts and hoodies to long sleeves, tank tops, juniors', women's, toddler, onesies, and accessories. The product catalogue is anchored by 80+ licensed brands including Grateful Dead (flagship), Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, AC/DC, David Bowie, Slash, The Police, Allman Brothers, Genesis, Monty Python, Woodstock, Cheech and Chong, and all 30 MLB teams, augmented by a proprietary Liquid Blue Brands sub-brand portfolio of at least ten internal labels such as Skull Pile, Haight Ashbury, Havok, Blacklight, and Ballpark.

The company runs three go-to-market motions in parallel: a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront at liquidblue.com with wishlist, account management, and a Build Your Own customization flow; a dedicated wholesale portal at secure.liquidblue.com serving bulk buyers and resellers; and a physical retail location at the Derry, NH headquarters under LB Retail. Pricing is structured by garment type, with t-shirts at roughly $20-$40, hoodies at $48-$55, long sleeves at $31-$39, clearance tiers at $10-$20, and accessories at $5-$10, with mystery-pack bundles offered at discount and free domestic shipping above $99. Worldwide shipping extends reach beyond the US.

Revenue is generated through one-time consumer purchases on the DTC platform and wholesale distribution to resellers, with no subscription, licensing-out, or recurring revenue streams identified. The customer base is segmented across music enthusiasts (primary), sports fans, and gift buyers, with no named enterprise accounts and no disclosed revenue. The company is privately held, bootstrapped (no venture or private-equity backing disclosed), and operates with a headcount of 51-100 employees.

Name

Liquid Blue

Legal name

Liquid Blue (LB Retail LLC)

Website

https://liquidblue.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Liquid Blue is a US-based wholesaler and retailer of officially licensed tie-dye apparel featuring music, sports, and entertainment brands. Operating via DTC e-commerce, a wholesale portal, and a Derry, NH retail store, it serves fans globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Derry

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Direct E-commerce Sales: Consumer direct purchases through liquidblue.com online storefront with shopping cart, checkout, and account management.
2. Wholesale Distribution: Wholesale channel through secure.liquidblue.com portal for bulk orders to retailers and resellers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Liquid Blue designs, dyes, and prints officially licensed tie-dye and graphic apparel including t-shirts, hoodies, long sleeves, and accessories featuring music bands (Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Jimi Hendrix, and others), Major League Baseball teams, and entertainment brands. Products are made in the USA from 100% cotton and sold direct-to-consumer through liquidblue.com and wholesale through secure.liquidblue.com, with a physical retail storefront in Derry, NH.

Product overview

Liquid Blue is a tie-dye apparel retailer operating as a single e-commerce platform. The core offering centers on officially licensed tie-dye and graphic t-shirts, hoodies, and long sleeve garments featuring music band artwork (Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, AC/DC, and 60+ other artists), Major League Baseball team designs, and original brand collections. The product portfolio spans: tie-dye and graphic t-shirts as the flagship product; hoodies and long sleeves as garment variations; the Build Your Own customization feature for garment/print combinations; accessories (hats, bags, keychains) and gifts (drinkware, collectibles, home decor); Mystery Packs bundled merchandise; and unprinted tie-dye garments. The company also offers wholesale accounts through a separate portal. Products are designed, dyed, and printed in the USA with 100% cotton materials and feature multi-sided prints on many styles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ballpark: Sub-brand featured in Liquid Blue Brands collection.
• Blacklight
• Dunker
• Haight Ashbury
• Havok
• Lithuania
• Luctus
• Skull Pile
• TDOG
• Ukraine

Products and services

• Tie-Dye T-Shirts Liquid Blue's flagship product: colorful tie-dye designs on heavy-duty 100% cotton t-shirts featuring graphics from officially licensed music, sports, and entertainment brands. Sold direct-to-consumer and wholesale.
• Hoodies Pull-over and zip-up hooded sweatshirts with tie-dye and graphic designs featuring officially licensed music, sports, and entertainment themes, sold direct-to-consumer and wholesale.
• Long Sleeve T-Shirts Long sleeve t-shirts featuring tie-dye patterns and officially licensed music band artwork, sold direct-to-consumer and wholesale.
• Grateful Dead Collection An extensive collection of officially licensed Grateful Dead merchandise featuring iconic imagery such as Steal Your Face, Dancing Bears, Bertha, and tour-specific designs, available as t-shirts, hoodies, long sleeves, and accessories.
• Pink Floyd Collection Officially licensed Pink Floyd merchandise featuring Dark Side of the Moon, Pulse, Animals, and other iconic album artwork, presented in tie-dye and graphic designs across apparel categories.
• MLB Sports Collection Officially licensed Major League Baseball merchandise featuring all 30 MLB team designs in tie-dye and graphic t-shirts, made from 100% cotton.
• Build Your Own Custom Apparel A customization collection allowing customers to select specific artwork, colors, and garment types including t-shirts, hoodies, and long sleeves with various print styles.
• Accessories Apparel accessories including bandanas, bags, belts, hats, jewelry, keychains, lanyards, patches, pins, ponchos, scarves, skirts, socks, and wallets featuring licensed brand designs.
• Gifts and Home Decor Collectibles, drinkware, stickers, games, blankets, tapestries, magnets, signs, candles, incense, and other gift and home decor items featuring licensed brand imagery.
• Mystery Packs Pre-packaged bundles of multiple t-shirts offered at discounted prices, including mystery-themed packs for Grateful Dead and other music collections.
• Unprinted Tie-Dyes Plain tie-dye garments without printed graphics, available in sizes up to 6XL, for customers who want the tie-dye look without specific licensed branding.
• Clearance Items Discounted t-shirts and apparel offered at reduced prices, with dedicated $10, $15, and $20 clearance tiers and plus-sizes options.
• Liquid Blue House Brand Proprietary Liquid Blue brand featuring original designs including Skull Pile, Haight Ashbury, Ballpark, Blacklight, Dunker, Havok, Luctus, TDOG, and other original artwork collections.

Quantifiable outcome

• Products maintain color vibrancy and quality through multiple wash cycles
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ripple Junction: Pop-culture licensed apparel company producing officially licensed graphic tees, hoodies, and accessories for music, gaming, and entertainment IP. Directly comparable to Liquid Blue on licensed merchandise focus, customer overlap, and similar product mix.
• Fifth Sun: Wholesale manufacturer of licensed graphic apparel and t-shirts for music, entertainment, and sports brands. Closely comparable business model to Liquid Blue's wholesale + licensing-driven production with similar customer base of retailers and resellers.
• Bioworld Merchandising: Global licensed apparel and accessories manufacturer producing tees, headwear, and accessories featuring music, entertainment, and pop-culture IP. Directly comparable on product range, licensing model, and B2B wholesale distribution.
• BreakingT: Licensed sports apparel brand producing officially licensed graphic tees and apparel for MLB, NFL, NBA, and college teams, sold DTC. Overlaps with Liquid Blue's MLB tie-dye product line on licensed sports merchandising.
• Hyburdoo: Online retailer of officially licensed band and music merchandise including Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, and classic rock artists. Directly comparable to Liquid Blue on customer segment (classic rock/music fans) and licensed merch catalog.
• The Mountain: Graphic apparel brand producing visually distinctive printed tees featuring wildlife, fantasy, and licensed themes. Comparable to Liquid Blue on its graphic-tee value proposition, customization, and tie-dye/visually distinctive manufacturing.
• Buck Wear: Licensed outdoor and lifestyle apparel brand producing officially licensed tees and apparel featuring hunting, fishing, and country music themes. Comparable to Liquid Blue on licensed graphic apparel model and direct e-commerce distribution.

Broad incumbents

• Fanatics: Dominant vertically integrated licensed sports merchandise platform with extensive MLB, NFL, NBA, and college apparel. Larger and broader portfolio than Liquid Blue but overlaps directly on officially licensed MLB and sports apparel.
• '47 Brand: Licensed sports apparel and headwear brand offering officially licensed MLB, NFL, and NHL products across multiple categories. Overlaps with Liquid Blue's MLB and sports fan merchandise segment with broader portfolio scale.

Regional players

• Level Wear: Licensed sports and lifestyle apparel producer with extensive MLB, NFL, and NHL licensed assortment. Overlaps with Liquid Blue's MLB and sports merchandise segment, with comparable product mix of graphic tees and hoodies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat1 record

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/liquidbluetees
• YouTubeyoutube.com/liquidbluetees
• Facebookfacebook.com/liquid.blue.tshirts
• Instagraminstagram.com/liquidbluetees
• TikToktiktok.com/@liquidbluetees
• Pinterestpinterest.com/liquidbluetees
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/liquid-blue

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Liquid Blue