Salvation Brands will introduce Esci, a premium mountain-lifestyle label priced from $228 to $448, on Thursday — its fifth brand in five years and its second collaboration with outside capital.

The Costa Mesa, Calif.-based incubator, founded by 30-year industry veteran Tyson White, is bringing the apres-ski brand to market for the Schumacher family. The family's background sits in real estate and finance, not apparel: Schumacher Homes, a large custom home builder based in Canton, Ohio, and the investment firm Schu Capital. Paul Schumacher Sr. and Paul Schumacher Jr. cofounded Esci; White serves as chief executive officer.

The deal structure matters for sourcing professionals. Salvation Brands owns or operates Ruby Mint (beach accessories), The Brown Buffalo (bags), Bootcap (ski-boot toe covers) and SPC/LST (technical menswear). Each brand runs independently but shares back-end operational resources. The Schumachers own Esci; Salvation supplies the operating expertise.

"What started out as ideas and fun projects grew into bigger things," White said. "We love building brands; that's kind of what makes us tick."

What does Esci actually sell?

The line opens at $228 and tops out at $448, spanning insulated jackets and vests, fleece hoodies, leggings, quarter-zip mocknecks and joggers. White positions it between technical skiwear and luxury fashion.

"Typically, you go to the mountain and put on the highly technical gear you're actually skiing in," White said. "There's really nothing that transitions fluidly between those spaces. There are apres-ski brands, but they tend to serve the high luxury space."

White draws a clear line on performance claims. "I wouldn't recommend skiers to wear anything that isn't true technical ski outerwear," he said, citing the "extreme waterproofing properties" of materials such as Gore-Tex. Esci's technical properties — breathability and insulation — qualify it as a mid- or first layer, not slope wear. That caveat should temper any wholesale positioning as performance apparel.

Schumacher Sr. framed the family's intent: "Our family has always believed in the importance of quality, thoughtful design and creating something that genuinely enhances the way people live."

Why direct-to-consumer only?

Esci launches strictly direct-to-consumer, like every Salvation Brands property. White ruled out wholesale and international for now — and gave a cost logic for it.

"We don't want to be distracted by having to go to trade shows, set up sales forces and have buyers tell you what to make," he said. "This is our vision and we want to stay pure and focused."

For brands at this scale, DTC-first avoids showroom costs, sales-force overhead and buyer-driven line changes. White did not disclose launch volumes, sales targets or inventory commitments. The company keeps a low profile; no revenue figures for the existing four brands appear anywhere in the announcement.

Is this the Authentic Brands Group model?

White explicitly rejected comparison with brand management firms (companies that acquire brand licenses and monetize them across channels) such as Authentic Brands Group and WHP Global.

"We're brand creators," White said. "We don't start from a price point and a line plan and try to work to a margin. It's not commerce first."

That claim carries weight only against the portfolio's actual pricing. The numbers suggest mid-premium, not luxury:

• Bootcap toe covers: $59.50 retail
• SPC/LST zip hoodies: $155; Cordura (a high-tenacity nylon fabric) fleece joggers: $130
• The Brown Buffalo duffels: $279–$299; backpacks: $179–$189; Dopp kits: $39
• Ruby Mint towels: certified sustainable organic cotton, oversize

The Brown Buffalo, created by Douglas Davidson after 25 years designing for The North Face and Burton, carries a lifetime warranty on every bag. "The liner of the bag is as expensive or more expensive than the external material," White said — a rare cost inversion in the bag category.

What is not said

No acquisition targets, no revenue disclosures, no volume projections and no timeline for wholesale expansion. After five years, the company oversees just five brands, and White disavowed any growth quota: "There isn't a business plan that says in 2027 we're going to acquire or invest in a specific number of brands."

The model is deliberate smallness: shared back-end costs, founder-led brands, premium-but-not-luxury pricing and no institutional pressure to scale. Whether that discipline survives a fifth brand backed by family capital from outside the industry — with a CEO serving two masters, Schumacher ownership and Salvation operations — will be the test to watch as Esci's first season sells through.