The Carter Story
Founder and CEO of Wallaroo Hat Company, a Colorado-based brand known for creating stylish, functional, and UPF 50+ sun-conscious accessories designed to inspire adventure while protecting the skin.
Under her leadership, Wallaroo has built a loyal following for its commitment to fashion with a purpose blending timeless style with cutting-edge sun safety and innovative Flexi-Weave fabric technology, while its sister brand Carkella by Wallaroo underscores that mission with performance driven styles ideal for time on the course.
Carter has championed sustainability in the brand’s materials and operations, and her mission extends beyond fashion. Wallaroo partners with many organizations including the Skin Cancer Foundation ensuring the most effective sun protective products for Wallaroo customers.
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What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned since starting Wallaroo?
One of the most important things I have learned is the importance of leading with clarity, empathy, and trust, especially during times of continued change and uncertainty.
Leadership is about creating an environment where talented people feel empowered to contribute their best thinking.
By trusting my team we have been able to navigate evolving market conditions while staying aligned and focused on our goals.
How would you characterize the market coming into the 2026 golf season?
At Wallaroo, we believe you shouldn’t have to choose between function and fashion, and the market is now catching up to that philosophy.
UPF 50+ protection is no longer considered a luxury item, and golfers are educated and understand the risks of sun exposure, and they’re actively seeking out stylish solutions that perform.
How does today’s generation of customers align and differ from past ones such as Baby Boomers?
Today’s customers are much more sun savvy than the generation that came before them, but Baby Boomers built our foundation. They came to Wallaroo out of necessity, many having learned the hard way about sun damage.
Today’s younger customers are sun safe, however, will not compromise on style. What all generations now share is the same core value: confidence and sun protection outdoors.
The ‘why’ is identical, yet the ‘how they find us’ is completely different.
How do you go about securing customer feedback and how is customer service fostered?
We listen and develop new products through product reviews, social media, and direct conversations at trade shows and consumer events. Being a small, passionate company is our superpower.
What I’m most proud of is the community we’ve built. Our customers aren’t just buyers, they’re advocates. They tag us on social media, they gift our hats, and they tell their friends.
That kind of loyalty doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when people feel heard and valued at every touchpoint.
Do men and women view headwear from different perspectives. If so – what’s the primary difference?
Absolutely. Women tend to view headwear not only as a need for being on the golf course under the sun but as part of their overall look. Sun protection is important to them, but it must come packaged in something they feel good about wearing.
Men are about function first and style second. That trend seems to be shifting now, as we are seeing younger men become more sun and style conscious at the same time.
People when selecting headwear want a combination of adaptability to golf and fashion. How difficult is that to achieve and what makes Wallaroo stand apart in delivering on those two crucial dimensions?
Golf demands a lot from a hat. It needs to stay put in the wind, manage heat and moisture, provide serious UPF 50+ protection. What sets Wallaroo apart is that we never start the design process by compromising one for the other.
Our Flexi-Weave technology and thoughtful construction mean we’re engineering performance from the very beginning and not adding it as an afterthought. Our design team approaches every silhouette with a fashion-forward eye.
We consistently hear “I finally found a hat I’ll actually wear” and that’s the Wallaroo difference.
In approximate percentage terms – what are your sales efforts via the following categories: online, green grass shops and brick and mortar retail outlets?
Wallaroo’s wholesale business, including golf green grass shops, accounts for approximately 60% of our business.
This figure includes all brick-and-mortar retail outlets.
Our online sales, including Amazon, account for approximately 40% of our annual business.
The biggest challenges facing Wallaroo short and long term are what?
Short term – The marketplace is crowded and getting a consumer to stop scrolling long enough to understand what makes us different. We’re not just selling hats. We’re selling a lifestyle and a health commitment, and that story takes a moment to tell.
Long term – It’s brand awareness at scale. We have incredibly loyal customers, but there’s a vast audience who simply haven’t discovered Wallaroo yet. Closing that gap authentically is our biggest opportunity and our biggest challenge simultaneously.
What strategic steps are you taking to deal with each?
We’re being very intentional about where and how we show up. Partnerships with people like Jane Seymour, who give us a platform to tell our story authentically with content that educates and inspires.
We are expanding into more golf shops, resorts, and specialty retailers while building a digital presence, the goal is always to meet our customers where they are.
Complete the sentence Stephanie Carter is –
Stephanie Carter is a woman who believes that looking good and doing good are never mutually exclusive and that a business can be profitable, purposeful, and people-centered all at once.
She’s a builder, a believer in the power of community, and someone who shows up every day genuinely passionate about protecting people from the sun in style.
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For more info on the 2026 Collection – Wallaroo Hat Company click HERE
