Forget Glitter: The New Thing to Ship Your Enemies Is a Potato An entrepreneur in Texas has made a business out of shipping potatoes inscribed with anonymous messages.
By Kate Taylor
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
When Alex Craig told his girlfriend his business plan, she told him it was the stupidest idea she had ever heard.
While many may agree, there are thousands who do not. Craig, you see, has made a business out of sending potatoes inscribed with messages anonymously through the mail.
The 24-year-old Texas entrepreneur says he has sold more than 2,000 potatoes and is making a profit of $10,000 a month since launching Potato Parcel in May, reports WFAA. Potatoes sell for $7.99 for a medium (which fits 100 characters) and $9.99 for a large (up to 140 characters). Craig will ship them anywhere in the U.S.
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Twitter users have posted photos in which the potatoes serve as a quirky, unexpected form of potentially anonymous communication.
From my eldest via mail. @AnthonyMcKee95 #potatoparcel pic.twitter.com/EjsWeO62e2
— Bob McKee (@bobmckee) June 24, 2015My sister's big promotion at work earned her this #potatoparcel pic.twitter.com/swti2WdxzZ
— B (@skybrocker) July 20, 2015You're enabling my girlfriend 2 be rude 2 me #potatoparcel pic.twitter.com/mFYpeM9pbF
— Uncle Vlad (@vladimirmasters) August 1, 2015This isn't the first time that a simple product has garnered major support. A similar business, ShipYourEnemiesGlitter, allowed users to do exactly what the name promised, catapulting founder Matthew Carpenter to internet fame until he grew sick of the concept and sold the website for $85,000.
Nor is this the first time the potato has inspired entrepreneurial success. In January, Zack Brown generated more than $55,000 to fund a project to make a batch of potato salad. Brown took to Internet entrepreneurship more readily than Carpenter, and is currently working on a Potato Salad cookbook. Hopefully Craig can follow his example and make Potato Parcels a lasting business instead of just a potato-shaped blip on the radar.
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