The original Blinky
By Ed Avis
When you imagine customers in your store shopping for Halloween, you probably envision them buying costumes. But the trick-or-treating experience these days goes beyond dress-up – you should also think about selling pumpkin-shaped candy holders, cauldrons for candy and décor, and assorted other add-ons.
All of those accessories are available from new NCA Vendor Member Blinky Products. The company, which joined the NCA in January, has been making plastic goods since the early 1970s. And everything is made in their own factory in Massachusetts, so forget about supply chain problems!
“The company was founded by an elderly couple, the Wilbers, because they were worried about the safety of trick-or-treaters,” says Pat Magnus, the company’s owner. “They came up with a handheld pumpkin with a blinking light inside it and said, ‘Let’s call this a “Blinky,”’ and that’s how they came up with the name.”
Today, Blinky Products is known for much more than the original Blinky. For example, their black plastic cauldrons are great sellers, essentially a staple item for any Halloween event. The company makes the cauldrons in 6 sizes -- 18 inch (mainly used for a beverage cooler), 15 inch, 12 inch (which is good for a punch bowl), 10 inch, 8 inch (which has a handle and is often used for trick-or-treating), and 6-inch (which is a fun party favor). The 8-inch cauldrons also are available in green and gold, making them perfect for St. Patrick’s Day.
The cauldrons were designed to stack inside each other, which ensures that every inch of the carton is filled with retail value rather than empty space. That’s essential given the cost of shipping these days.
“We never require a minimum order because a smaller store may not have as much floor space as a larger store does, and we don’t think they should be penalized because they can’t meet a minimum order requirement,” Magnus says. “I feel they should be able to order any quantity of product that suits their needs, and we will take care of them.”
That being said, Blinky encourages retailers to order enough product to fill a full or partial pallet, because pallet shipping is much less expensive than shipping per box, especially for lightweight-yet-bulky items. If you’re able to buy multiple for seasons at once – such as Halloween, St. Patrick’s, Christmas, and Summer Beach Season -- filling a pallet becomes easy, Magnus says. Blinky currently works with five freight brokers who compete for the best rate and service.
“I also want to point out that if any particular store doesn’t have room for all six cauldron sizes, namely the larger 18-inch and 15-inch, we have other packs to suit this need,” Magnus says. “Our second pack includes three pieces each of the 12-inch, 10-inch, 8-inch, and 6-inch cauldrons. Then the 8-inch trick-or-treat size and the 6-inch party favor size are both offered in their own 12 packs.”
History
Blinky was started by the Wilbers, but the company’s current success is largely due to Pat Magnus’ mother, Patricia Magnus. The Wilbers had grown the company over a couple of years, and had some nice regular orders from retailers, when Mr. Wilber passed away. His widow did not want to run the company alone, so she contacted Regis Magnus, Pat’s father, who owned a plastic supply distribution company. Regis presented the opportunity to his wife, Patricia, and she jumped at it.
“My mother bought the company in 1975 and rented a garage to start filling the orders,” Magnus remembers.
They made the Blinkys themselves using a plastic blow molding machine in that garage. Within three years they had outgrown the space and purchased an old printing shop as their new factory. Regis Magnus’ plastics company – Plastic Distribution Corp., (PDC) – was located next door, so they had a ready supply of raw materials. By then they employed about a dozen people and had added a number of other products to their line, which prompted them to add the word “Products” to the name.
“Really my mother was the one with the imagination,” Magnus says. “She would talk to the office ladies about new ideas for products and then hire a tooling shop to make the new mold.”
Pat Magnus was just a kid then and loved that his mother owned a company making such fun things. “I would bring garbage bags full of Blinkys into my classroom and hand them out to the kids,” he recalls. “After school, the school bus would drop me off at the factory and I would run around and play in the warehouse.”
When he turned 12 he became an employee, first painting faces on the pumpkins, and later working the blow molding machines or grinding up rejected products so they could reuse the plastic. In 2003 he hit the road as a salesman for the company, traveling to a dozen trade shows a year and making cold calls at retailers. In 2010 his parents retired and he took over the business.
Blinky has come a long way since its early days, just as Halloween itself has. Rising costs in the 1990s forced many of products Patricia developed to become discontinued, though some are still sold on eBay to collectors. The company has expanded into more holidays and seasons. They make a Santa boot that is widely used as a gift basket or poinsettia planter, and they have a line of products for spring and summer, including pails and shovels for the beach, plastic bats and balls, and piggy banks in several styles.
Tips for NCA Members
Magnus has suggestions for NCA members who have not carried his products before.
- The pumpkins come in multiple colors beyond orange – pink, teal, baby blue, etc. – so set up a display that draws attention with color. Customers may want to choose a pumpkin that matches their costume.
- Remember that the company also sells other Halloween items that can add to your bottom line, such as pumpkin and apple shaped sippy cups with a sport cap, and a 12-inch coffin that can also be sold in a store’s “Over The Hill” department.
- Put the different size cauldrons in different places around your store. Some buyers will want the large ones for décor, while others will prefer the ones with handles for carrying. Remember that this is an impulse item, so spreading them around the store increases the likelihood of a sale.
- Stock the non-holiday items too, so you can get those add-on sales even when costume shopping is done.
“Once NCA members get to know me, I think they’ll like my service and my company,” Magnus says. “We’re a family-owned business just like them, and we love working with other independent companies.”
For details on Blinky’s NCA Member discount: Click here to download the Halloween product discount list, and click here for Spring/Summer product discount list.