At RM49 for a box of 9 marshmallows, ChubbeeCloud’s offerings aren’t exactly cheap.
But with marshmallows that clients can design for themselves, the couple Carmen and Edmund are able to carve out a niche for themselves in the “unique gift” sector by selling “The Coolest Edible Picture” in the market.
It’s a nice solution for a problem that a lot of us can relate to. You want to get a unique gift for someone for, say, an anniversary, birthday or the launch of their new store.
Founder Carmen, an event manager, felt the struggle of getting “special” gifts every day.
She used to crack her head when clients came up to her for creative corporate gift suggestions, especially for something simple to give out as corporate gifts that these brands can just stamp their logo on.
“The market demand for this field has risen exponentially. But the gifting industries in Malaysia & Singapore are still not as mature as Western countries.”
“The big trend in the gifting industry now is about experience gifting, meaning the gifts would be unconventional, exciting, memorable—and the personal touch is well appreciated, too.”
Being able to give personalised sweet treats seems like a nice middle ground between affordable gifts and thoughtfulness.
Carmen thought that it worked out pretty well in the initial stages, so she recruited her husband—a man with a tech background and what she characterises as a “strong operation management skill”—to join her in selling printed marshmallows.
Thus, ChubbeeCloud was born, selling customised boxes for everything from corporate gifts, to little birthday treats and even proposals.
10 months into the business, they’ve not only broken even, but are turning a profit.
ChubbeeCloud charges based on number of marshmallows, instead of any design factors.
The whole box could contain entirely different designs per marshmallow but the price remains the same.
The ordering process is pretty simple, and can all be done on their website.
- You can choose between their pre-loaded designs or upload any pictures or designs that you have on your own.
- The team then prints onto the soft, square marshmallows using a special printer, and FDA approved ink.
After the order is put in, the team prints the marshmallows piece-by-piece to ensure that the design goes on smoothly—which does cost them some manpower.
The team does also offer same-day delivery, though they usually take 3–5 days, according to their website.
It was perhaps this simplicity in ordering that granted ChubbeeCloud their position in the inaugural Global Accelerator Program in MaGIC, and also patronage from big corporates such as HP, Mah Sing, Etude House, Parkson, among others.
ChubbeeCloud also takes pains to ensure that the marshmallows they source are certified halal. In fact, this was a struggle for them for a while.
Running ChubbeeCloud while also pursuing other businesses can be a struggle.
Carmen still runs her event company full-time, and her husband pursues his passion as a resident DJ on the side.
“But both of us have a common aim and dreams on how to expand this business. This has even strengthened our bond,” said Carmen.
Going into business with someone requires a lot of trust, which Carmen characterises as “essential in business and marriage”.
“Of course there are many sleepless nights due to overload of orders sometimes.”
“Since we are still very new in the market we have to work extra harder to reach more clients out there to introduce the concept of experience gifting with a personal touch.”
But with their entry into the GAP programme, the pair has lofty goals of introducing their marshmallows across the Malaysian borders.
And unlike the fluffiness of and softness of the marshmallows they sell, the team is going hard into building a solid foundation here in Malaysia.
The team hopes that the programme will help them scale up the business to extend their reach.
The ChubbeeCloud team is currently offering a 10% discount for their bespoke marshmallow box for the first 20 readers who key in VULCAN10 on their site, valid until 31st August 2017.
Feature Image Credit: ChubbeeCloud
