It’s a familiar story for parents across the country: Early in the morning, you drive your kids to and from the sport they’ve chosen to play. This was certainly the case for my co-founder Ian Critchlow, who regularly woke up at 4am to take his son to swim training.
Like many teenagers, his son needed energy — especially a toasted peanut butter and banana sandwich at the recommendation of his coaches — to get through the early morning hours.
The business idea for the viral CRIMPiT emerged from these nutritional needs.
From humble beginnings to mass appeal
Having dabbled in the world of invention before, Ian set out to create a tool that would help him make pre-made sandwiches that could be popped in the toaster to warm up when ready to eat — what a lot made for a more engaging experience than throwing together a soggy sandwich under the refrigerator lights at 3:30 a.m.
After numerous sketches and prototypes, the CRIMPiT was born: a device that could create sealed bags of low-calorie, thin bread that could be popped into the toaster at the last minute.
Ian was a former colleague of mine, and when he realized his invention could have mass appeal, he contacted me. I was as excited about it as he was, and with our years of marketing experience together, we decided to develop and invest in CRIMPiT.
Within an astonishing six months, we brought the product to market. The Facebook ads were running and the orders were coming in. We packed orders onto our kitchen tables, with friends and family helping out.
How social media sold our verifiable product
The key to CRIMPiT’s success was being able to show it to people, and we knew that would be a crucial factor. That’s why social media marketing played a big role in our advertising strategy from the start. The CRIMPiT is one of those things that you don’t think you need, but once you try it, you’ll love it. It really makes life easier, but we had to do it show People that.
Working with just a handful of influencers, we started creating content that showed how easy it was to use – and things snowballed. The product orders came in. We increased production. Media coverage began, CRIMPiT appeared in The Mail, The Times, The Guardian, food magazines and radio shows.
Facebook groups emerged where users shared their favorite sweet and savory recipe ideas. We started getting celebrity support, including people like Mrs Hinch and Davina McCall.
The business soon grew beyond the kitchen tables and so they moved to a small warehouse. Six months later, the company outgrew that warehouse. Now based in a 4,000 square meter warehouse in the North West with eight full-time employees and 30 part-time employees, the company is a remarkable success story from humble beginnings.
The impact of COVID-19
The product was originally manufactured in China, but amid COVID-19 it proved difficult — and very expensive — to guarantee stock. We had to rethink. The solution was to move production entirely to the UK.
It proved more cost-effective and became an important part of the company’s ethos. The CRIMPiT is now proudly made in the UK and is proud to be manufactured and distributed in the North West, supporting the local economy and improving the quality of our product.
Our customers gave us our next big idea
Our community is very engaged. Social media first allowed us to show people how they could use our product, and now they have the opportunity to talk to us about it directly. And of course, listening to your audience is crucial to business growth.
This led to the next phase of our business journey – the launch of the new CRIMPiT Wrap Sealer.
Could we, we were asked in the Facebook group, create a CRIMPiT for both wraps and sandwiches? Toasties are one thing, but wraps are quite another, and it turns out that most of us struggle to make proper wraps at home.
The answer was of course yes – and that’s what we did. With the same iconic yellow-gray design and ease of use as well as high-quality, food-safe plastic, the new CRIMPiT Wrap Sealer was developed and is already enjoying great popularity. Like last time, end users share their creations everywhere.
Find a new perspective
This new product opened up a whole new perspective as we realized that CRIMPiT Wrap Sealer is ideal for using up leftovers and reducing food waste. Last night’s dinner can easily be wrapped in a wrap to make a delicious lunch that you can take to work the next day.
In collaboration with food waste awareness app, Kitche, we have released a limited edition green CRIMPiT Wrap Sealer to raise awareness and promote this benefit.
The importance of listening to the community
When you receive a recurring message from your customers, you need to respond. That’s why focus groups are so important and interactive community groups and social media so powerful — you get real, immediate feedback and can invent, improve and expand with the confidence that interest is already there. Thousands of five-star reviews on Trustpilot and millions of shares on social media are proof of this.
We also work with packaging companies and charities to raise awareness of various food issues, and we have a community of well over 100,000 people sharing ideas, recipes and inspiration.
The CRIMPiT community was spot on – and it’s growing with us. It will take a whole year and we will keep listening!
Mike Harper and Ian Critchlow are the founders of CRIMPiT, whose viral sandwich and wrap toasters help customers prepare delicious, warm and clean snacks and lunches.
