Sprayground: How to make backpacks no longer boring

New York youth David Ben-David, who founded the backpack brand Sprayground in 2010, said: "It takes a little courage to carry a bag like this because it's so eye-catching."

Printed with Godzilla-like lizards and one-eyed Queen Elizabeth, Sprayground's backpacks capture the brand's rebellious character.

These flamboyant designs are sought after by young people. The Sprayground bag is also sometimes found on music superstar Beyonce and NBA star Durant. The Moret Group (owners of Danskin and 2(X)IST), Sprayground's parent company, declined to disclose revenue, though the company said Sprayground's sales have at least doubled every year. A Google report released in August ranked Sprayground as one of the hottest backpack brands this fall, trailing only the multi-billion dollar Victoria’s Secret Pink.

Ben-David mentions that the streets are full of basic black backpacks from JanSport and North Face, which he and Sprayground co-founder Eddie Shabot find boring. However, the multi-pocket design of JanSport gave Ben-David inspiration - the opposite is true, there is only one unified bag body, and there are no extra pockets on the outside.

In the beginning, Sprayground aimed to become a backpack in sneaker culture, as eye-catching as Jordan sneakers or Ultra Boost running shoes. Ben-David said: "A lot of hipsters have cool sneakers and T-shirts, but they lack an equally cool backpack."

There are approximately 100 Sprayground packs, each of which is limited. Whether it's a simple Rastafarian version or an Odell Beckham Jr. collaboration, it's not always available. This means that the inventory in the store is different every day, and consumers need to make a trip to the store in person to confirm which styles are on sale. One of the best sellers from Sprayground is the wing-shaped backpack.

Endless new styles are also Sprayground's strategy. In the beginning, there was only one creative person, Ben-David. He designed a bag called "Hi, my name is", which attracted a lot of celebrities, followed by a bag full of money. After Jiang Lang was exhausted, he found a team to help him design. Sprayground now has a number of authorized partners, including Marvel, Hasbro and Viacom.

"No kid wants to carry the same bag as everyone else, so we're constantly introducing new and updated styles," says Ben-David.

Teenagers are the first consumers of Sprayground backpacks, but some mother-level women and fashion-conscious middle-aged men are also starting to buy Sprayground backpacks.

For those who go to the gym and the gym, Ben-David recently launched the Battleground sports bag. This pack is much larger than the average Sprayground pack and can hold sneakers and other sports gear. Backpacks with printed basketballs will be available at the same time as the new NBA season kicks off. And, for the second year in a row, Sprayground will release a cold jacket.

Here's what Ben-David had to say about the Battleground bag: "A lot of athletes complained to me about designing a bag that would hold basketballs and sneakers, so I made them."