CRAVEBOX was founded in 2014 by John Accardi. He started it in his apartment in Washington DC, and over the years it grew into larger and larger warehouses. CRAVEBOX’s home is now in a 60,000 sqft warehouse in North Wales, PA. John says, “I never expected CRAVEBOX to grow to this size, we have an incredible staff, space, and products. It’s been a fun, challenging journey and I’m excited for the future.”
CRAVEBOX experienced a growth spurt at the start of the pandemic because people were forced to purchase products online instead of in physical stores. Accardi leased more warehouse space and hired more staff to keep up with demand. But after the initial shock of the pandemic faded, sales plateaued, and new difficulties arose. Accardi says, “COVID brought increased sales, but it brought many challenges as well like a troubled supply chain, labor shortages, inflation, decreased profit margins, increased competition especially on Amazon, increased interest rates, declining stock market, and recession fears,”
John worked through these challenges by keeping operations simple, cutting costs, staying financially strong, and improving CRAVEBOX’s current offerings. John says, “There were so many pressures shrinking the bottom line. For example, our cost of goods were increasing at a 20% annual rate, interest rates were up, shipping costs and labor costs also shot up significantly. It became a priority for us to cut costs, and pay down all debt so we didn’t carry the risk and cost of servicing debt in a higher interest rate environment. CRAVEBOX is in a very strong financial position and that will help us survive through the toughest times.” Accardi emphasized that difficult business environments often bring opportunity. “There is a certain pain and fear that comes along with these circumstances, but I always remind myself that all my competitors are going through the same difficulties. If I can adapt and survive more effectively, there will be market share to capture as competitors inevitably struggle to continue operating,” says John.
CRAVEBOX is also recently offering new varieties. They’re expanding their holiday product lines – Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter. John is also developing new year-round CRAVEBOX products which he thinks will grow sales. Accardi says, “We’re creating new product varieties without complicating the supply chain. This is a low-risk way to try growing sales. I’m excited to continue testing new products to see what sells.” CRAVEBOX is poised to continue dominating Amazon, selling on cravebow.com, and is now also growing on Walmart.