A textbook example of survival through “last-man-standing” efficiency. While we began by picking up the pieces of a crumbling industry, we eventually outlasted every major competitor in the United States.
A few key takeaways from what we have learned from the market to reach our current position:
- Acquiring Used Wisdom: In 1938, the company literally built itself using used equipment purchased from other match companies. We didn’t reinvent the wheel; we optimized the tools that our competitors were discarding.
- Out-Efficiency the Giants: During the 1950s, we competed against massive industry leaders like Diamond Match and Lion Match. While those giants focused on broad dominance, D.D. Bean focused on becoming the most efficient producer of book matches specifically, a strategy that eventually allowed us to acquire our remaining rivals like Atlas Match and Eddy Match.
- Adapting to the “Lighter” Threat: As disposable lighters captured 95% of the market by the end of the 20th century, D.D. Bean observed the failure of other factories and pivoted. We transitioned from seeing matches as a pure commodity to marketing them as “palm-sized billboards” tactile, sustainable, and high-impression advertising tools.
- Consolidation for Survival: The 2016 acquisition of Atlas Match and the subsequent 2018 move to consolidate all manufacturing in New Hampshire was a direct response to the industry’s decline. We learned that the only way to keep the American match industry alive was to merge the last two remaining factories into a single, highly specialized operation.
Today, we are the sole remaining manufacturer of paper matchbooks in the United States and the largest producer of them in the world.
We stayed relevant by shifting from a utility-first mindset (selling a light or “being the cheapest ignition source on the market”) to a brand-experience mindset (selling a connection). This pivot was necessary as disposable lighters captured 95% of the market, turning matches from a necessity into a niche. Through our Atlas Match subsidiary, we act as a “promotional toolkit” provider, creating tangible advertising items like full-color postcards and matchbooks that cut through digital clutter for modern marketing campaigns. Historically, you had to order 25,000+ matchbooks. Now, we’ve optimized our production line to allow agencies to run test campaigns for just 50 books (small quantity programs), making it a low-risk “add-on” for a brand’s marketing budget.
From Commodity to “Small Batch” Collectible: We transitioned away from just producing “resale” matches (cheap matches for convenience stores) toward high-quality, customized runs. A modern customer might order 50 books with custom designs and intricate art rather than millions of generic ones. By doing this, we’ve successfully conveyed to marketing directors that a matchbook isn’t a “fire starter” it’s a ”high-frequency impression device” that stays in a customer’s pocket for weeks. There is something about the “ritual of striking a match” as something real and tactile in an increasingly digital world. Unlike digital ads that are scrolled past in milliseconds, a matchbook requires physical interaction and can provide 20 to 30 impressions every time a user reaches for a light.
While we still use equipment dating back to the last century—which we affectionately call our “Time Machines”, we are maintaining a continuous improvement mindset. This includes sustaining a veteran workforce (some with over 40 years of experience) while automating newer processes to remain the most efficient producer globally. We are deploying a new strategy to meet the market, by partnering with Xerox. This allows us to focus on the small high-end match books, coasters and printed mailers that can be designed and ordered by customers on their own schedules.