PLYMOUTH, MA— Igloo Products Corporation has debuted a new brand, Yew Stuff, which brings to market whimsical products in several categories, including at its initial launch, lunch bags and hydration bottles.
“We think of Yew Stuff as our disruptor brand,” said Brad Blankinship, Igloo’s senior director of special projects and co-founder, Yew Stuff. “We like to look at categories that might feel a little stale and breathe new life into them.”
The first line under the brand is Pop Lights, an LED technology that the company has integrated into lunch boxes, water bottles, Christmas stockings and Halloween bags, for example.
“Pop Lights takes ordinary items that kids need to have and turns them into items kids want to have. We saw a lot of products starting to integrate lights. Shoes and bike helmets for example have been very successful by adding LED lights. We thought adding the LED Pop Lights feature would bring a new and exciting element to what has before just been a color or a graphic. The combination of the LED lights with fun graphics gives the product a unique and new look that makes it more exciting,” he noted.
Although the initial focus of the Pop Lights line was younger consumers, he said that Igloo is getting a positive response from all ages and plans to incorporate some products for adults as well.
“Igloo’s demographic ranges from kids to adults, with family always in mind. We are reaching a similar audience here but with a playful twist,” he said.
He added, “Yew Stuff has a different aesthetic than the Igloo brand and will play in categories that Igloo traditionally has not played in.” Given the Yew Stuff brand’s gift quality, the company is finding many specialty retailers that are bringing in the products.
For 2018, Igloo plans to expand Pop Lights to include backpacks, synch sacks and other products that lend themselves to the LED technology.
Igloo is shipping several Yew Stuff products in the fourth quarter for a soft launch, but the brand is slated for a retail roll out in spring 2018, with a dedicated space connected to the Igloo booth at the Housewares Show.