Sun Bum

Sun Bum is an American sun-care brand founded in 2010 in Cocoa Beach, Florida [1]. Built around a beach and surf lifestyle, it makes sunscreen, hair care and lip care sold under the tagline "Trust The Bum®." Since 2019 it has been owned by the consumer-goods company S.C. Johnson, under which it continues to operate as a distinct brand with its own product lines and campaigns [3].

The company was started by branding consultant Tom Rinks with partner René Canetti. According to a feature on Rinks, a fellow parent at his child's school asked whether a struggling, cash-losing sunscreen business could be turned around; Rinks and Canetti built the Sun Bum brand for a fee and a small equity stake, and eventually took it over [6].

Sun Bum traces its start to 2010, when, in the company's words, its makers "started making products to protect our friends and families from the harmful effects of the sun." The early operation ran out of an old beach house off the A1A highway in Cocoa Beach, Florida.

Rather than advertise its way into the market, the brand grew through the surf community. Editorial accounts describe an early grassroots strategy of handing out samples to local surfers and lifeguards, sponsoring beach events, and relying on word of mouth [4]. That approach tied the products to a lifestyle rather than a single item, with a sunglasses-wearing monkey mascot at the center of the brand's identity.

Retail distribution followed the surf audience outward. Ron Jon Surf Shop and Urban Outfitters carried the brand by 2012, later joined by mass retailers Target and CVS [4]. Before its sale, Sun Bum was backed by the private-equity firm VMG Partners and was generating roughly $70 million in annual sales [3].

The company later opened a second office in Encinitas, California, alongside the original Cocoa Beach location; trade coverage records Encinitas as the current headquarters while the brand's own account keeps Cocoa Beach as the founding site [3].

S.C. Johnson announced its acquisition of Sun Bum on June 24, 2019 [3]. Financial terms were not disclosed by the buyer, though The Wall Street Journal had projected a valuation above $400 million when the sales process began [3]. The deal also included Baby Bum, the brand's baby sun-care and skincare line.

At the time, S.C. Johnson's chairman and CEO Fisk Johnson described Sun Bum as "a welcome addition to our portfolio of trusted products," placing it alongside acquisitions such as Method, Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day and Babyganics. According to editorial accounts, the Sun Bum team negotiated terms allowing the brand to keep operating independently under S.C. Johnson, and founder Tom Rinks stayed on for about a year and a half after the sale to build a comprehensive brand guide [5].

Sun Bum positions itself around the beach lifestyle, making products for people who, in the company's description, "live on the beach and need products that work on even the most intense days in the sun." Its stated mission is "to help people make more meaningful connections outside," and the brand summarizes its values as care for the planet, the animals and families.

The label sits in the drugstore price tier and sells through a mix of surf shops, lifestyle retailers, mass-market chains and its own site. Its core audience began with surfers, lifeguards and beach-goers before broadening to mainstream sun-care consumers.

The brand's range spans sun care, hair care and lip care. Its sun-care lineup includes Original, Mineral, Daily, Kids and the Baby Bum baby line, along with tanning oils and after-sun products; hair care and multiple SPF lip products round out the catalog. The signature product is its Original SPF sunscreen lotion, which the company markets as smelling "like summer®" [2].

On environmental positioning, Sun Bum states that its products are "Hawaii Act 104 Compliant," meaning they are free of the sunscreen ingredients oxybenzone and octinoxate. The company also runs Protect The Groms, a registered nonprofit that provides shade structures, sun-safety education and sunscreen to children.

In 2025, Sun Bum settled with Santa Clara County, California, agreeing not to advertise its chemical sunscreens as "reef friendly" or "reef compliant" [5].

Sun Bum is an active brand owned by S.C. Johnson since 2019, operating independently within that portfolio. As of 2026 its website remains active with a full product range and current campaigns, including a "Smells Like Summer Tour" promotion[2].