Natural Colors, Influencers and a Social Cause: AHF Products’ ‘Tmbr’ Looks to Reach Millennials

With the launch of its Tmbr flooring brand, AHF Products (Mountville, Pa.) says it is looking to accommodate a largely untapped demographic in the flooring industry: Millennial homeowners.

The demographic now represents about 30% of the population that has long been renters instead of homeowners, says AHF CEO Brian Carson. But Millennial homeownership and its growing buying power is on the rise. “COVID has accelerated that,” Carson told WFB. “There’s been a move back to the suburbs.” 

In an attempt to meet that growing demand, Big Sur, the first collection from Tmbr, is the product of roughly a year and a half of researching what Millennials want from a wood flooring brand. It features wide planks (7½ inches), long lengths (up to 75 inches), durable finishes and 10 natural colors—but the brand also goes beyond the flooring’s aesthetic to reach the demographic. The company wanted to team up with a social cause to appeal to the Millennial generation and formed a partnership with Arbor Day Foundation, where 1% of all Tmbr sales will go toward planting trees regionally where the buyer is located. 

“The buyer can see how the purchase benefits their own community,” Marketing Director Jamie Hooper told WFB.

Another initiative to connect with the Millennial generation includes a partnership with popular social media influencers Seth and Tori Bolt, who will promote and incorporate the flooring brand in their luxury treehouse Airbnbs.

AHF is also putting an emphasis on local retail stores to sell the Tmbr products.

”Millennials don’t want to go to Home Depot and buy something off the shelf,” says Kevin Whaley, AHF VP–sales, product and marketing. “From what we’ve seen, Millennials like to research online and buy in store.” 

To emphasize that, AHF Products, which also has brands such as Bruce, Hartco, LM Flooring, Robbins, Capella and HomerWood under its umbrella, will provide its Tmbr dealers with premium memberships to IndependentWeStand, which provides marketing assistance and other resources to local businesses.

AHF anticipates a full launch of Tmbr by the fourth quarter. And while aspects of the wood flooring line target Millennials specifically (including an embedded medallion logo in each of the samples, designed to tap into the “nostalgia” craze), Carson says the brand doesn’t forget about other generations. 

“We feel it’s something everybody can see themselves in,” he says.