Athletes ranging from beach volleyball players to Indy 500 drivers turn to hot startup Kaenon Polarized for its must have sunglasses. FedEx helps Kaenon deliver — anywhere.

When brothers Steve and Darren Rosenberg started Kaenon in 2001, they knew they could, in Darren Rosenberg's words, "build a better mousetrap." The brothers developed a polarized lens material that combines the optical clarity of glass with the lighter weight and impact resistance of polycarbonate. They also found a way to control the amount of light that gets through to the wearer's eyes, allowing the sunglasses to be customized for different activities and weather conditions.

But they still needed to get their breakthrough product to world markets.

"It was important for us to go global right away," said Darren Rosenberg, vice president. "A lot of startups don't do that, but we secured distributors in Europe and Australia." Customs procedures immediately presented a problem. The brothers worked with freight forwarders and attempted to deal with customs directly. Both approaches proved frustrating. Then Kaenon partnered with FedEx, which became its broker for global customs.

With decades of know-how about operating around the world, FedEx offers the expertise and shipping services to help any company enter new markets. Kaenon uses FedEx Express for international shipping, while FedEx Ground handles deliveries to retailers in the United States and Canada — as well as many of Kaenon's online customers. Now you're as likely to spot surfers and kiteboarders wearing Kaenon's glasses on the shoreline of Sydney, Australia, as you are at the company's home base of Newport Beach, Calif.

Darren Rosenberg put it simply: "FedEx becoming our global broker was huge for us."

kaenon.com