Love Your Melon

If you want a warm, well-made beanie that also does some good, Love Your Melon is an easy yes. Beyond the cozy knit, every purchase ties into the brand's mission to support children battling cancer, so the hat carries meaning most beanies do not. For shoppers who value purpose as much as comfort, that combination is exactly the point.

Yes. Fifty percent of net profit from every Love Your Melon product goes to the Love Your Melon Fund, which supports nonprofit partners fighting pediatric cancer and funds therapeutic experiences for children and families. After its 2025 relaunch, the brand also restored its original Buy One, Give One model, donating a hat to a child battling cancer for each one sold. It is a genuine part of how the company operates.

The two share a root: Love Your Melon's founders were directly inspired by Blake Mycoskie's book about Toms Shoes and its buy-one, give-one idea. The difference is the cause and the product. Where Toms began with shoes for children in need, Love Your Melon focuses on beanies and the fight against pediatric cancer, giving a hat to a child battling cancer for each one sold.

It is best known for its beanies tied to a charitable mission for kids with cancer. The first product was a knit beanie sold from a stand outside a restaurant owned by co-founder Zach Quinn's family. Over time the brand expanded into headbands, scarves, blankets, and apparel, but the beanie remains its signature and the heart of the giving model.

Love Your Melon was founded in October 2012 by Zach Quinn and Brian Keller, who met on the second day of an entrepreneurship class at the University of St. Thomas. A class project to build a profitable business became the company. Quinn is the son of Cafe Latte owners Pete and Linda Quinn, and the very first beanies were sold from a stand outside the family restaurant.

The company is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The first beanies came from a knitting mill in Portland, Oregon, but the brand now works with around 40 suppliers, including Minneapolis-based Softline Brand Partners and Minnesota Knitting Mills in St. Paul. That local manufacturing network is a point of pride for the brand.

It is now a for-profit company, though it began as a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit through 2015. Since 2016 it has operated as a business corporation that still gives half of its net profit to its pediatric-cancer fund. The model is sometimes described as "caring capitalism" or "profits with principles," pairing commercial success with a social mission.

In 2025, original co-founder Zach Quinn reacquired the brand from Win Brands Group and relaunched it with an updated look. The relaunch restored the company's original Buy One, Give One model and introduced both classic and new collections. Quinn described the move as bringing the mission "back to its roots" with his family alongside him.

The Campus Crew is the brand's volunteer ambassador program, started in 2013 by Quinn and Keller after a three-month cross-country trip selling hats and visiting hospitals. Crew members, largely college students, help facilitate beanie donations and run related events throughout the year. The network has been a major engine behind the brand's reach and grassroots energy.

The brand directs its giving through a roster of well-known pediatric-cancer nonprofits. Partners include the Pinky Swear Foundation, Make-A-Wish, St. Jude, Alex's Lemonade Stand, the St. Baldrick's Foundation, and Ronald McDonald House Charities. These partnerships are how donations turn into research support and therapeutic experiences for children and families.

Knit cotton beanies hold up well with simple care. Wash gently and reshape the hat while damp so it keeps its fit, and avoid high heat that can shrink or warp the knit. Treated kindly, a good beanie lasts for many winters, which fits the brand's give-back spirit nicely.