Windmill’s new air purifier is made of bamboo and designed to look like modern furniture.
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Air filters aren’t the most glamorous of household appliances. You can’t really see what they’re doing, and even if they’re working, you can replace the good results with something else: a restful night’s sleep, a sunny day, the end of Mercury’s retrograde. You might imagine something like that.
Still, consumers are actually breathing in these devices. The global air purifier market size is estimated to be $15.94 billion in 2023, driven by awareness of airborne diseases, including coronavirus, and rising pollution levels in urban areas (and, really, cats!). , is expected to grow further in the future. According to market analysis firm Grand View Research, the annual growth rate through 2030 is 7.1%. New technologies in air purification (i.e. quieter, smaller, more resistant to particulates) are also driving interest in products from market leaders such as Coway, IQ Air, Winix, Blue Air and Levoit.
Finding breathing room in this market, especially on the boutique side, is not easy for new entrants. As major retailers like Costco and Walmart sell nose-to-the-wall, low-cost air purifiers from big brands like Dyson and Shark, family-run air conditioning company Windmill has launched its first air purifier. It caught my attention when it was announced. This air purifier has a design as advanced as an air conditioner, and I once likened it to the “iPhone of air conditioners.”
The Windmill Purifier, available today, is built to look like a stylish piece of furniture. Designed in white, navy, and bamboo, it’s fashionable and eco-friendly, backed by YETI founder Pentland Ventures and backed by a nearly completed $5 million Series A funding round This is part of the company’s continued product build-out. , other VCs and angel investors.
Windmill founder Mike Mayer is a third-generation veteran of the New York home air conditioning industry and is good at talking about his business ventures without getting too excited, so we caught up with him on the eve of announcing Windmill’s latest product. I got in touch.
Air purifiers aren’t the sexiest home appliances, but Windmill wants to change that narrative.
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david hockman: Where did the idea to expand beyond air conditioning come from? Was it during the pandemic?
mike mayer:We never intended to be just an air conditioning company. From the beginning, we wanted to become a broader air care brand focused on home comfort. Air purification has always been at the top of our list, but the pandemic and environmental challenges like wildfires have made it even more important. The coronavirus pandemic has brought a flood of ugly, noisy, and clunky air purifiers onto the market. I realized that there was a gap between beautiful and high-performance products.
hockman: To be honest, all air purifiers are the same for me. What distinguishes you from others?
mayer: First, this is the only purifier with a real bamboo finish. It’s not just plastic that looks like wood, it’s handcrafted. Also available in sophisticated white and bold navy. In terms of design, we take inspiration from the minimalist “Japandi” style, which combines Japanese and Scandinavian aesthetics. It fits beautifully in children’s rooms, bedrooms and living rooms. Feature-wise, it has a true HEPA filter, energy-saving mode, and sleep mode (whisper or white noise to improve sleep quality).
hockman: How often should I replace the filter?
mayer:Depending on usage conditions, we recommend every 6 months. You can extend the filter’s life a little by vacuuming the outside, but eventually your HEPA filter will need to be replaced.
hockman:What have you learned in the past five years?
mayer: What is the biggest lesson? Stay calm. It’s easy to be wide-eyed and excited at first, but things don’t always go as planned. Just as we were launching, the new coronavirus hit and the factory was shut down. That was tough. But I learned that patience pays off. We’ve grown to over 100,000 customers and expanded into stores like Home Depot, Best Buy, and Lowe’s. Success requires real grit and steady effort.
hockman: What’s next for air purifiers?
mayer: We are building a series of smart air care products. We are already selling air circulators and electric fans. It has five speed settings and connects to the same app that controls your air conditioner and purifier. We plan to continue expanding our product line, but our current focus is on perfecting this suite.
hockman: Have you ever had a wonderful moment when you unexpectedly discovered your product?
mayer: It’s always fun to see influencers and reality TV stars post photos with our products in the background. Someone recently sent me a photo from a show where they spotted two windmill AC units installed on the facade of a building. It’s rewarding to walk around the city and see the buildings scattered around. We started with a few hundred units. Now you see them everywhere. In the world of air conditioning, this is about as cool as it gets.
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