Area Inventor Sells Gift Wrap Dispenser at Local Bed Bath & Beyond
Cedar Rapids, Iowa--November 24, 2009--Suzanne Weston of WrapItFast, a client of the Entrepreneurial Development Center, is now selling her novel gift wrap dispenser at the local Bed Bath and Beyond store, located at 4840 1st Avenue, Northeast, Cedar Rapids. She will be at the store on Saturday, November, 29th to demonstrate the product to Bed Bath and Beyond customers. This announcement falls on the heels of Ms. Weston and her WrapItFast product being featured nationally on QVC twice in the past few weeks, where 70% of her inventory has already sold out. See the QVC web site for more details.
WrapItFast is a gift paper dispenser and storage system, invented by Ms. Weston, and originally successfully test marketed in the Cedar Rapids area. After the local test market at Lindale Mall throughout the 2006-2007 holiday season, inventor, Suzanne Weston felt confident that she had a product that people would pay for to help make the task of gift wrapping easier and more convenient. "From what I learned from customers during the test market, I made several improvements including check boxes on the end so that customers can easily, visually identify what gift paper they have stored in the dispenser, as well as clearer directions. I think these improvements also helped me get into the local Bed Bath and Beyond," said Ms. Weston.
"We're just excited to feature such a novel local product. That is one of our claims to fame at Bed Bath and Beyond - being entrepreneurial. We hope it will be a successful launch in Cedar Rapids," said Mike Zika, Store Manager, Cedar Rapids Bed Bath & Beyond.
WrapItFast looks like a large container for plastic or foil wrap. The serrated edge cuts the gift paper cleanly and quickly, and the leftover gift wrap is conveniently stored and organized for later use. Each dispenser holds a standard 30 inch roll of gift wrap paper.
This is Ms. Weston's first entree with a national chain store. Bed Bath & Beyond owns well over 900 locations internationally, including The Christmastree Store, found mainly on the East Coast. The Entrepreneurial Development Center has assisted Ms. Weston with business advice and support since the early idea stage. The product is assembled and packaged at Goodwill Industries of the Heartland in Cedar Rapids (where 10 people have been employed for this product), as well as Goodwill Industries of the Keystone Area in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where 16 additional people were able to be employed.
For more information visit http://www.wrapitfast.com
Contact
Suzanne Weston
WrapItFast
319-981-2396
Mike Zika
Store Manager
Bed Bath and Beyond
319-447-0157
