By: Jon Stojan

Jerry Negrete, the founder and creator of AirOrb, actually listens to his customers and tries to solve their problems. Having been in the scent marketing industry for several years, he understands how scent can create a “consistent and welcoming atmosphere.”

“I developed a deep understanding of how scent impacts environments and how customers interact with fragrance products on a daily basis,” Negrete explains.

Though Negrete’s work centered on installing and maintaining scent systems in apartment buildings, hotels, and assisted living facilities, his customers often told him how disappointing it was that the scent from traditional car fresheners faded too soon and wasn’t consistent.

“That problem stuck with me,” Negrete says.

Customer Feedback Inspires Innovation

Negrete didn’t plan to create a new product. The inspiration for the AirOrb grew organically out of customer feedback. Traditional car air fresheners are disposable and unsustainable, often lack scent longevity, and lack a function to control how much scent they emit.

One day, while Negrete was sitting at his desk with a traditional hanging cardboard paper air freshener and a wooden air freshener nearby, the concept came together. The absorbency of felt was a perfect fit to his vision. Negrete didn’t want to create another disposable air freshener. His customers wanted a reusable car air freshener that was durable with a scent that would last. Negrete took that feedback and approached the creation of his new product with what he calls “a problem-solving mindset.”

“I focused on longevity, control, and reuse. AirOrb allows users to adjust scent strength and reapply fragrance instead of throwing the product away,” Negrete adds.

The Challenges of Launching AirOrb

Negrete’s desire to solve that issue led him to found AirOrb, a scent innovation company that specializes in reusable, refillable air freshener systems. AirOrb was born out of Negrete’s analysis of what was missing from the products on the market and his customer feedback.

AirOrb was launched after years of idea development and testing. It took a lot of persistence to overcome unexpected challenges and bring his idea to reality.

As an entrepreneur, Negrete had moments of uncertainty. The biggest challenge he faced was the trademark process. The name he had originally planned to use for his product was rejected because it conflicted with another trademark in the fragrance category.

“That forced me to restart after already developing product materials, which was difficult both financially and mentally,” Negrete notes.

Negrete believed in the product, but endured the constant opposition that comes with launching a new endeavor. To keep moving forward, he stayed focused on his vision, accepted that challenges were a part of the process, and leaned heavily on his personal faith. Negrete says he gets most of his instruction from the Bible, regarding it as a blueprint that showed him what to anticipate.

“It’s all by faith… It’s a new product. And it’s been a desire in my heart to get it out there,” Negrete concludes.

The Future for AirOrb

Launching AirOrb was a major accomplishment for Negrete. He’d been searching for direction before he created the product and started his company. Negrete wanted to build his brand even though his idea hadn’t been tested yet. His journey was propelled forward by faith, believing that he was moving in the right direction. Despite his uncertainty at times, he trusted that God was guiding him.

Looking toward the future, Negrete has plans to add new scents that neutralize odors, expand production and distribution, and scale manufacturing. He aims to establish AirOrb as the standard in the car fragrance space while maintaining quality.