Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Meckwood.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Kim. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
We’ve all been there… We just finished shopping, and now we’re faced with the burden of getting all of those groceries home, from the cart to the car and again from the car to your home! I knew there had to be a better way, so I came up with the idea for Click & Carry. Click & Carry is a simple, handle device that allows shoppers to carry multiple bags at once ~ either in the hands or over the shoulder for a hands-free carry.
The shape of Click & Carry appeared in a dream. I sketched the form and concept onto paper, and then I hired a student at the Pasadena Design School to help me develop a prototype. Nine 3-D CAD ideations later, I had a product. I had a mold created to make a working prototype. Unfortunately, the first effort needed some modifications. So I went back to the drawing board. After making the necessary changes, I created a second mold.
The second mold worked perfectly, so I filed for a utility patent, which was awarded almost three years later. Now that I had an issued patent in hand, I decided to try to bring the product to market. At that time, I was working in deep brain stimulation at Medtronic. I sold Click & Carry locally at swap meets and farmers markets at night and on weekends. Later that year, I ended up getting sick, and I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Everything came to halt while I handled cancer. Luckily, I made it through the cancer scare.
When you go through such a harrowing experience, you realize how short life can be. I decided then and there to put all my energy into launching my product. I saved up money and left my lucrative career to promote Click & Carry full time. My first game-changing event occurred at the Home + Housewares show in Chicago.
I was representing Click & Carry in “Inventor’s Corner” at the trade show, and I entered a competition to pitch my product. Unbeknownst to me, one of the judges was a buyer from QVC. Bernadette, the buyer from QVC, changed the trajectory of my business by offering the opportunity to promote my item on QVC. It was a true Cinderella story. See link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4YG8XPIQfA&t=5s.
I’ve had some success with QVC, The Container Store, some Kroger grocery stores and at Walmart in Puerto Rico. I am currently offering my product, Click & Carry, on my website clickandcarry.com and it’s also available on Amazon Prime.
Has it been a smooth road?
There have been numerous obstacles! The greatest challenge I face currently is that people see the product in store and don’t understand what the product is by looking at it. Some think it’s a chip clip, others think it’s a purse hanger.
Click & Carry is the type of product that needs a demonstration. I plan on investing in mini-screens for POP (point of purchase) displays so a B-Roll showing the many uses of Click & Carry may be looped. Here is the B-Roll that I plan to loop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXB4IVXMM_I
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Click & Carry story. Tell us more about the business.
Click & Carry is a simple, handle device that allows shoppers to manage and carry multiple bags at once ~ comfortably. Click & Carry may be CARRIED in the HANDS or WORN over the SHOULDERS for a hands-free carry.
Click & Carry benefits Shoppers with a Conforming Gel Grip, a Rotating Top to easily load/unload bags, it provides Even Distribution of Weight, it Carries up to 80 lbs. and is CARRIED in the HANDS or WORN over One’s SHOULDER. Click & Carry allows the shopper to tote his or her groceries in just ONE QUICK trip! Click & Carry is ideal for moms, urban dwellers/city slickers and seniors with arthritis and/or dexterity issues.
Moms stock up for the entire family when grocery shopping. She’s busy and seeks solutions to be the best mom possible. With Click & Carry, she can “wear” her groceries, hold her baby and still have a free hand to extend to her toddler.
Urban dwellers shop for fill-ins on daily trips to the store and are generally on foot or using public transportation. An urban shopper seeks to maximize convenience. With Click & Carry, the urban dweller no longer has to choose between the milk or the detergent, which are both heavy items. He can buy both since the Click & Carry makes toting multiple bags much easier – all with one quick trip!
Seniors and Baby Boomers experience physical limitations when household/grocery shopping. Bags can be painful to hold or carry ~ especially if the Senior has arthritis. Click & Carry is ergonomically designed for comfort and even distribution of weight. The conforming gel grip on the Click & Carry eases the pain for seniors toting multiple bags.
Click & Carry may also be used for carrying dry cleaning, as a ski-boot tote, to transport paint cans or construction pails, for toting sports equipment and to walk multiple dogs at once.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Click & Carry’s addressable market is ENORMOUS, and the market is UNIVERSAL. Everyone carries bags!
Click & Carry can be used to carry groceries, to carry purchases made at a favorite boutique, as a ski-boot tote, to carry dry cleaning, for construction workers to transport paint cans and construction pails, for soccer moms to tote sports equipment and to walk multiple dogs at once.
Plus, people shop everywhere, every day and all throughout the world. This product has universal appeal and has a myriad of uses. The largest markets in the world for Click & Carry are Europe, where people tend to grocery shop on a daily basis and Southeast Asia, where bicycles are a popular mode of transportation that allows the rider to “wear” their purchases while cycling.
As our society grows more environmental friendly, Click & Carry can easily handle all recycled and reusable bags made of canvas, fabric and other green materials.
Pricing:
- Click & Carry is available on clickandcarry.com for $9.99 + shipping & handling
- Click & Carry is available on Amazon Prime for $11.99 for a singe unit and $19.99 for a 2-pack
Contact Info:
- Website: www.clickandcarry.com
- Phone: (855) 871-7052
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @clickandcarry
- Facebook: Click & Carry
- Twitter: @clickandcarry
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