Some might say the itchy-borderline-painful mosquito bites are a fact of life; a badge of perseverance; the signs of summer. But the truth is, mosquitoes are much more than a nuance– they can be deadly, transmitting things like malaria, West Nile Virus, Zika, and Dengue. Not to mention all the other flies, gnats, horse flies, berry bugs and other stinging, biting bastards that threaten to ruin a good time.
The market is flooded with products that claim to keep them at bay: sprays, balms, citronella candles that don’t seem to do much of anything. Kite decided to do something about that– the innovative company found a way to block CO2 receptors in bugs– so they’ll never even know you’re there– but without the use of chemicals like DEET.
“From the beginning, our goal was to change the way we protect ourselves against the nuisance and discomfort of crawling, flying, and biting insects,” Kite CEO Amro Albanna says. “We sought to shield humans from mosquitoes and other insects, without using harsh chemicals. Our first product, Kite Shield is different in this way, and as impressively effective as the products containing 7-10% DEET.” This claim isn’t just some hot CO2: third party studies have backed it up. Whatever plants and extracts Kite combined are clearly working.
Interestingly, Kite got its start thanks to a crowdfunding campaign. “We wanted to rally the crowd, get them involved, and make them a part of what we were trying to do,” Albanna explains. “The tremendous support we received strongly reinforced the crowd’s support for what we were working to achieve.” Clearly! Their Indiegogo campaign raised over $500,000. “Their support has also kept us going, to continue to push through the challenges that came our way.”
It’s also important to Kite that the people most in need of bug repellent have access to it– after all, it could mean the difference between life and death. “We have made a commitment to give back, so Kite products can be made available to everyone, everywhere. We hope to work with NGOs, who will be able to help us bring Kite to those people who need it most, so they can fight back against mosquitoes and other insects.”
With Kite, you can enjoy the outdoors using an awesomely effective botanical formula of bug repellent that’s also helping to keep people safer and healthier around the world.
