A mom-and-pop toy company in Shreveport, Carbonation Toys, has launched its Fizz Kids line.
The firm began a yearlong entrepreneurship mentoring program this month through Cohab in Shreveport to grow the market for these vinyl, hand-painted characters uniquely packaged in retro soda cans.
Trent Siskron works in commercial real estate. But during off hours, he’s meeting with his dad and brother -- both physicians -- developing these characters that his dad thought up 30 years ago, like Cranked Cola.
“There’s a name that’s actually on the can that describes the drink that’s in there. For example, Cranked Cola is a hyper-caffeinated, schizo-texting cat. It’s sort of how a lot of people feel in this day and age, especially teenagers, we believe,” Siskron said.
Fizz Kids made their first appearance at Louisiana Comic Con last year. The collectible toys have a natural fit in the so-called “geekdom” demographic. Since then, Siskron says, they’ve traveled to these conventions around the country to develop a cult following and brand awareness.
Their sleeve-like soda can and display dome system is patent pending. Siskron hired a toy designer in Oklahoma and an artist in New York to help advance the toy brand that was incorporated in 2014. He says the toys and their packaging are made in two Chinese factories, and a series of conference calls connect the supply chain.
“The artist in New York will sketch out some ideas from what she takes from our conversation. Then, we tweak it from there. The toy designer drops it into a CAD program. Then, that goes to China. The Chinese factory sculpts the molds out of clay. They cast resin prototypes out of clay and that’s how they make the molds,” Siskron said.
Siskron hopes that through Cohab’s StartupTrax program his firm will move forward in marketing and licensing these toys.
He’s sold about 500 Fizz Kids so far. The family wants to grow the business in Shreveport and nurture a local following. Their first entrepreneurship meeting was held Friday at Cohab. Four businesses are participating in the StartupTrax development program.
