Bubble Wrap Yourself

Image you want to own a business in one of the world’s largest cities. One of those really heavily populated metros where people depend more on public transportation than driving their own cars. Rents are really high, so you locate in a “C” or “D” location, away from any parking, bus stops, or subway stations. You are only allowed a small sign on top of your building-and the only way to get to your business is down a walkway-people can’t even drive past your front door.

Despite all of these obstacles there is an endless line of customers waiting. They wait in line outside of your 900 square foot shop for 2 hours or more to pay THREE TIMES the average price for your above average product. And although your business has only been open 120 days, you have received international acclaim.

There is such a business. It’s called Bubble Wrap and it’s located off of a back alley in London’s China Town. They only make and serve one item-One scoop of Gelato wrapped in a waffle cone that looks like bubble wrap. Don’t look for 31 flavors-they only have about 8 choices. You’ll pay extra for toppings like fruit, candy pieces, or cream. One scoop per cone only-and you’ll pay 7 British Pounds (and gain 8 US pounds) which totals about $8.75 in Uncle Sam’s Dollars and $10 Canadian.

Advertising in London costs more than New York City, Los Angeles, or Toronto, so Bubble Wrap turned to social media to promote their store (yes, there is only one store). Check out their Facebook Page and see photos of their store at https://www.facebook.com/bubblewraplondon/

Although only existing since February 2017 they already have 6000 likes on Facebook. While “Likes” are nice, they don’t pay the bills. However over 3000 Facebook fans have visited the physical location and paid good money for amazing ice cream cone. That’s 40 people a day and since so many couples and families go there, it’s more like 100 people a day. Chances are good that they are spending less than $100 a week to draw that many people.

On a recent trip to London, my everlovin’ bride and I got the chance to experience BUBBLE WRAP. It wasn’t really by chance-my everlovin’ and I are FOODIES and were targeted with a boosted post by Bubble Wrap. Naturally it became a part of our Must See (and taste) list. LUCKILY we arrived during a slow time and only stood in line for 50 minutes. During our time there, no one who got in line left the line. At the start of the queue Bubble Wrap had a stand with menus of their featured flavors and toppings so we had plenty of time to mentally assemble our treat.

Operations People would melt down at the inefficiencies of their preparation process, but Marketing People would rejoice! In the front window we could see the preparation of the bubble wrap cones. Because of the unique shape, each cone had to be perfect-and any with imperfections coming off of the waffle iron were quickly discarded. Every customer who left the building with their decorated cone had to pass by the people in line-and were greeted with Oohs and Ahhs-heightened the satisfaction of the beholder and sharpening the appetite of the people left in line. 

Photos of the building, the products and the existing people were quickly taken and uploaded to Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram and more.

The SECRET of their SUCCESS is really no secret-it is simply being REMARKABLE. Your business is no different than any other business; you become REMARKABLE when people want to remark about your location, building, products, or EXPERIENCE!

Here is what Bubble Wrap did to earn remarks. See if you can mimic some of their strategies and create your own buzz.

·        Their choices were limited and unusual. They didn’t strive to become the Vanilla King! But if you want the best Green Tea Gelato with Salted Caramel Topping, they are the place to go.

·        Limited choices resulted in limited inventory! They never set out to be all things to all people. Quality topped quantity.

·        Perfection is important. They only served A-1 top quality products. If a cone was not right, they didn’t try to pass it off to a customer. BTW their “waste” is factored into the price

·        No 99 cent cones and no 2 for 1 special coupons. They demand top buck (or pound in this case) and they get it.

·        They get top buck because of the EXPERIENCE! They have created a demand for an unusual spin on an everyday product. Somewhere within a half-mile is a McDonalds serving cones for One British Pound. Bubble Wrap knows that is NOT a direct competitor and they don’t try to gain that audience.

·        The Cones not only taste good, but LOOK AMAZING. In Junior High we used to say “Take a picture-it’ll last longer”. Their raving fans WERE indeed snapping shots and sending it to the world.

Our 50 minutes in line resulted in 15 minutes of pure dairy and starch pleasure! The cones are gone, but the photos and memories remain. And our 300+ social media friends got a taste too!

Send me a note if you want to see a picture of Bubble Wrap’s creations. The taste will change your life, and their strategies may change your business.