More than 300,000 Byrna SD Launchers Sold Since Shipping began in June 2019
ANDOVER, Mass. - Byrna Technologies Inc. announced earlier this year that it had reached a revenue milestone, capping off four years of impressive growth. Revenues increased from $924 thousand in fiscal 2019, the year Byrna began to sell its launchers, to a record $48 million of net revenue for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2022.
Byrna’s early focus has been providing American gun owners with a safe, effective, and reliable less-lethal option in their arsenal to protect themselves and their families in situations that do not call for deadly force, tapping into an expected Total Addressable Market (TAM) of 100 million U.S. gun owners. Along the way, the Company has found that there also is strong demand for their Byrna launchers among non-gun owners looking for an effective form of protection for themselves and their families without the risk of causing grievous injury or death.
Bryan Ganz, the Company’s President and CEO, says that many of their customers have been attracted to the Company’s products because they are looking for an effective means of self-defense without unnecessary or lasting harm, and without the risks associated with having a firearm in the house. “Crime and gun violence are two of Americans top concerns,” Ganz explained, “and we believe there are many people who feel a need to protect themselves and their loved ones, but are not willing to risk taking a human life.”
Byrna’s historic growth was fueled through sales direct to consumers, through dealers (such as Bass Pro), to private security firms, and to law enforcement agencies, including police departments across the country. Today, Byrna counts more than 300 police departments amongst its customers, including large federal agencies such as the ATF and DEA. These customers welcome tools that can facilitate their job performance and protect officers and the public without the risk of excessive force.
Ganz continued: “In many of our cities crime is on the rise, so police departments are increasingly called upon to deploy force to maintain the peace. Unfortunately, at the same time, accusations of police brutality have skyrocketed due to a number of high-profile police shootings. This can lead officers to hesitate when faced with a potentially deadly threat, potentially putting the life of the officer or the lives of innocent bystanders at risk. Our products offer a solution to this tension because with the Byrna launchers there should not be fatal mistakes.”
The Company recently has run up against bans on advertising or promoting weapons on social media platforms that are applied blindly to less lethal tools for self-defense, like the Byrna launchers, and other weapons, including firearms. As the Company works on new marketing strategies to overcome these challenges, Ganz remains committed to its mission to provide civilians, law enforcement officers, and security professionals with a safe, reliable and effective alternative to traditional firearms to protect themselves, their families and their communities without the need to resort to deadly force.
“We need to educate the public that there are safe, effective, and reliable alternatives to lethal force,” Ganz explained. “I am convinced we have only started to scratch the surface of the market. Most gun owners don’t know they have options, much less that our products exist. When they have an opportunity to try a Byrna launcher and learn about its effectiveness, many become customers. And whenever someone is carrying a less-lethal weapon rather than a firearm, we are potentially saving a life.”