Boomf

Boomf
Private
Industry Personalised confectionery
Founded November 2013
Founders James Middleton and Andy Bell
Headquarters Reading and London, England
Area served
 Global
Website www.boomf.com

Boomf is a UK company that delivers personalised gifts through the letterbox. The company launched in 2013 selling personalised marshmallows with photos printed on top. Boomf now offer a range of gifts including photo printed chocolate, the Boomf 'bomb' (a personalised greeting card that pops out of the envelope) and the Boomf 'Flutter' (a personalised greeting card with a butterfly flying out).

Background

Boomf was founded in November 2013 by James Middleton and Andy Bell.[1] Middleton had previously founded Nice Cakes, which specialised in personalised cakes.[2][3] Bell had previously founded Mint Digital,[1] which created StickyGram (now Sticky9), an Instagram magnet company which sold to PhotoBox.[4] Boomf combines elements from both businesses.

History

In 2014, Boomf raised over $1m and is backed by a number of angel investors, including Nick Jenkins, founder of Moonpig, Duncan Jennings and Matt Wheeler.[1]

Boomf launched in November 2013 without mentioning Middleton's involvement, to allow for a low profile launch.[5] In January 2014, Boomf announced Middleton's involvement, believing that it would be impossible to keep it secret long-term.[2]

The initial reaction to Boomf was incredulity; in the Bluff the Listener section of NPR's Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me, one listener believed it was more plausible that Vladimir Putin had a brother Igor who had invented a pill to stop old people smelling, than that the Duchess of Cambridge's brother has launched a personalised marshmallow company.[6]

Nevertheless, Boomf shipped 2 tons of marshmallows in its first year and made £100,000 ($168,000) in sales in its first three months.[7]

Boomf launched a real-time personalised marshmallow service on a reconditioned Pashley's tricycle in the department store Selfridges, as part of Selfridge's Meet the Makers pop-up season.[8] For Valentines, Boomf created a S'mores pop-up, allowing customers to roast their ex.[9]

In July 2015, Boomf launched a nationwide search for a new marshmallow designer. The winner was Bournemouth University student Izzy Burton.[10]

It was reported in August 2015 that the company had raised £1million in funding.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Baker, Dylan (8 August 2014). "Middleton Brother's Boomf Instagram Marshmallows Raise Over $1m". TechCityNews. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  2. 1 2 Bryant, Martin (23 January 2014). "James Middleton, Brother of the Duchess of Cambridge: The Man Behind Boomf's Instagram Marshmallows". TNW Blog. The Next Web. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  3. ↑ Nicholl, Katie (9 August 2012). "The other Middleton". British GQ.
  4. ↑ Titcomb, James (24 June 2014). "Printing Site PhotoBox Snaps Up London-Based Instagram Firm". City A.M. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  5. ↑ Bryant, Martin (25 November 2013). "Boomf: Marshmallows with Your Instagram Photos on Them". TNW Blog. The Next Web. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  6. ↑ "Bluff the Listener". Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!. NPR. 1 February 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  7. ↑ Petroff, Alanna (12 August 2014). "Kate Middleton's brother: The Marshmallow Selfie King". CNN Money. London. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  8. ↑ Stephens, Charlie (23 July 2014). "Refurbished Tricycle Lets You Create Edible Marshmallow Instagrams On-Demand". PSFK. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  9. ↑ Calladine, Dan (10 February 2015). "Boomf's Valentines S'Mores Trike in Selfridges". London Pop-ups. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  10. ↑ Kaur, Melisha (19 July 2015). "Duchess of Cambridge's brother James Middleton chooses artistic collaborator and apprentice for marshmallow brand Boomf". London Evening Standard.
  11. ↑ Charlton, Corey. "Kate Middleton's brother James's mobile marshmallow picture-printing firm". UK Daily Mail August 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015. ....the paper reported the company was not in the red because it had raised £1million in funding.

Further reading

  • Garber, Megan (27 Nov 2013). "The Edible Instagram". The Atlantic. New York. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  • Beck, Laura (30 November 2013). "Get Your Instagram Photos Printed on Marshmallows". Cosmopolitan. New York: Hearst Communications. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  • Glanfield, Emma (24 July 2014). "Showing His Soft Side: James Middleton Launches Mobile Marshmallow Picture-Printing Business with Help of Reconditioned Tricycle". Daily Mail. London. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  • Jacobs, Alexandra (14 November 2014). "James Middleton Will Put a Happy Face on Your S'mores". New York Times. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  • Schwiegershausen, Erica (30 May 2014). "James Middleton on Marshmallows, and Being a 'New Age Willy Wonka'". New York. New York. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
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