SAYREVILLE – After traveling across the world and interviewing various figures, a lifelong Sayreville resident is now looking to give back to the borough and the rest of Middlesex County through a luxury travel brand bag.
Brian Roberts, a Sayreville resident and 2009 graduate of Sayreville War Memorial High School, is seeking to put purpose before profit with his luxury brand travel bag, which he has labeled the Refined Traveler.
“Refined Traveler is my idea of what a luxury brand should be,” Roberts said. “Not some nameless, faceless company selling social prestige, unrealistic beauty standards and material success, but a purpose-driven brand focused on real people, quality products, empowerment and doing the right thing.”
According to Roberts, each bag is made using vegan leather and are polyvinyl chloride (PVC), animal free, compact, lightweight, water/ultraviolet (UV) resistant and meet Transportation Security Administration (TSA) carry-on size requirements.
Refined Traveler bags can be purchased online at www.refinedtraveler.co and by phone at 732-419-7799. Prices start at $200.
The inspiration for Refined Traveler came from a nameless travel bag that Roberts designed five years ago.
“At the time I only had enough money to order one, so I did and kept it as my personal travel bag, not thinking much of it after that,” he said. “But over the years, random travelers would stop me to ask about it, and the more I traveled, no matter where I was in the world, the more it happened. That’s when I knew I was onto something.”
Roberts, who has traveled across the United States and the world and interviewed famous figures such as DJ Khaled (record producer) and Mark Cuban (businessman), found that the turning point to create Refined Traveler as a product line came in September 2017 while he was on a writing assignment in Fiji with Shopify for the Build a Bigger Business Competition.
“I was surrounded by world-class founders and they all loved the bag,” Roberts said. “When I told them it was my own, they told me to develop a whole collection.”
Since beginning the Refined Traveler collection, Roberts has sought to put purpose before profit with local hiring, free local delivery of products and contributing to local causes with a percentage of profits.
“Community is such a big part of this,” he said. “It’s why we offer free, same-day delivery on our bags to residents in Middlesex County and, rather than outsource that shipping for less cost, we’ll even be using local drivers. There isn’t a luxury brand on the planet doing that. It’s also why, despite cheaper help available remotely, our team is 100 percent Sayreville based.”
“From models and photographers to customer service and accounting, it’s not just about selling backpacks and duffel bags,” Roberts continued. “It’s about giving back, providing ongoing opportunity and local economic empowerment.”
“We’ve already donated 100 percent of the revenue from our first sale to Sammy’s Hope, a non-profit animal rescue here in Sayreville, and are looking to local customers for help identifying other good causes to support. Every month, a percentage of our profits will go to giving like this.
“Sure, you can go to a big box store and get a name brand bag for the same price,” Roberts said. “But when you shop with us, you’re supporting your friends and neighbors, good causes in your community and so much more. All of this ties into our simple mission: look good, do good.”