By Jill Rohrbach, travel writer

Arkansas Dept. of Parks, Heritage and Tourism

Entrepreneurs and startup brands like Collin Whittington of Morii Outdoor are thriving as Arkansas invests in its outdoor recreation sector. In less than a year, Whittington has taken his Coffee Campfire Starter product from a prototype to retail stores with support from initiatives like the Greenhouse Outdoor Recreation Program (GORP), the Outdoor Economy Summit, and Arkansas State Parks.

The Journey: From Idea to Reality

The Coffee Campfire Starter is a product born from Whittington’s time working at a coffee roasting facility in Fort Smith. Seeing coffee husks discarded as waste sparked the idea to transform this byproduct into clean, sustainable fire starter. Combined with beeswax, this simple, natural product became the heart of Morii’s growth.

“When you roast coffee at high temps the outer skin of the coffee bean comes off. The husk of the bean is collected in the machine, then bagged up and thrown away,” Whittington said. “One reason you are throwing it away is because it’s a fire hazard. It’s fine, papery material. Lightbulb moment, right?”

However, it would be four more years before he made his first prototype in his kitchen, which quickly became full of trays, molds and drying racks. He had moved to Northwest Arkansas and worked for Airship Coffee and Onyx Coffee. He asked to take some of the coffee husk waste material home and experimented with his first fire starter product on Nov. 11, 2023.

About three months later, in February 2024, the Campfire Starter made its debut at the Arkansas Outdoor Economy Summit’s Breakfast with Brands. The event opened doors for new partnerships, eventually leading to product placement in Arkansas State Parks stores and beyond. Today, Morii Outdoor has expanded into state parks across Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas stocked in nearly 100 stores, including regional outdoor retailers like Gearhead and Packrat.

Building Connections: Powered by GORP

Whittington was invited to the Breakfast with Brands event because he had previously participated in GORP, a University of Arkansas business incubation program that helps early-stage entrepreneurs create innovative products and services in the outdoor recreation industry.

In the 12-week GORP cohort program, Whittington worked to advance his sleeper system for SUVs. However, he ultimately did not develop it. While testing the concept, Morii Outdoor’s camping display featured his other invention, corn hole chairs, which unexpectedly drew more interest than the intended product.

So, he showed up at the Outdoor Economy Summit breakfast to pitch his chairs and show three prototypes of coffee starters, which would be the company’s next innovation.

He made his pitch to the people at his table. The moment passed quickly and then the next speaker at the podium began. The opportunity to engage with other entrepreneurs and outdoor recreation enthusiasts provided Whittington with new partnerships and opportunities to pursue.

He entered the GORP 12-week cohort program for a second time to develop his prototype into his final product, which launched in July. He went on to offer Coffee Campfire Starter in state park stores and outdoor retailers and outfitters across multiple states.

Morii Outdoor is now in talks with Sam’s Club, which showed interest in the fire starters during GORP’s latest Demo Night, where startups in the program show off their products to attendees. Plus, Whittington just finished pitching at Walmart’s Open Call event. Morii Outdoor will know in March or April if Coffee Campfire Starters will make it into Walmart stores in the fall.

Whittington’s journey is also tightly woven with the support of the state’s Office of Outdoor Recreation, which coordinates the Outdoor Economy Summit. The summit was held for the second time in Bentonville in conjunction with the Arkansas Governor’s Conference on Tourism from Feb. 23-25.

Products with Purpose

The Coffee Campfire Starter is made with sustainability at its core, using recycled coffee husks from Arkansas coffee roasting companies and natural beeswax. The result is a petroleum-free, eco-friendly starter that burns clean and leaves no toxic residue. Each tin holds starters that last more than 10 minutes, ideal for grills, fire pits and campfires. And yes, it smells like coffee — for just long enough to make you smile.

Born from the idea of creating purposeful, affordable products that enhance outdoor experiences, Morii Outdoor captures the desire to savor the ephemeral — the warmth of a campfire, the laughter shared under the stars and the magic of a moment.

“Morii means the desire to capture a fleeting experience,” Whittington explained. “Like being around a campfire and you don’t want it to end.”

Vision for the Future

With more growth potential on the horizon, Morii Outdoor is scaling up production with automated machines and more partners, like Westrock Coffee of Little Rock.

The company aims to inspire more moments worth holding onto.

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