The Business: Fiestives Manufacturing Co., an operation based at 5220 Steptoe St. in Las Vegas. The company manufactures British Party Poppers, a device designed to entertain partygoers.
The Players: The husband-and-wife team of Harry and Joyce Spriggs owns 90 percent of the company. Preferred shareholders have a 10 percent interest in the operation.
The Background: Harry Spriggs, who grew up in the small Northern Nevada town of Hawthorne and graduated from Mineral County High School in 1960, developed the idea for the company in 1996 during a trip to South Africa. The country had recently been opened up to business opportunities after being isolated because of its apartheid policies. Spriggs, a veteran pilot who was flying for America West Airlines, wanted to go into business and was looking for import-export deals. Spriggs was no newcomer to business. He opened his own restaurant, The Big Chef, at the age of 19 and later operated a concession stand at the World’s Fair in Seattle. He became a commercial pilot flying planes and helicopters for companies all over the world, and was awarded the Valuable Service in the Air Medal by Queen Elizabeth. During his trip to South Africa, he learned from other businessmen about a German product called the Tischbomben, which translates into “table bomb” in English. It is a cylinder ignited by a black-powder fuse, which spews streamers and party favors such as hats, horns and noisemakers, high into the air. The device has been popular at European parties for more than 20 years. In Switzerland, for example, more than 800,000 units are sold annually, Spriggs said.
The Problem: Spriggs actually ran into several problems after returning to Phoenix, where he was based, and importing Tischbombens. He discovered the devices had flaws and often didn’t work. In addition, he faced the problem of getting federal approvals because the product was classified as a pyrotechnic device. He also had the challenge of manufacturing and marketing a device that was virtually unknown in the United States.
The Solution: Spriggs did what any ambitious American entrepreneur would do. He adjourned to his garage and tried to develop a better product for the U.S. market. “Our goal was to find a safer fuse, make the party popper concept more reliable and make the propellant very safe by making it into a non-pyrotechnic,” Spriggs said. He wanted to develop a party popper that would send party favors to a height of 10 to 12 feet. He revamped the product and created the British Party Popper with a fuse that does not use black powder. He has patents pending and has received federal classification for the product as a non-pyrotechnic device.
Spriggs moved to Las Vegas in September 1999 because he believed it was the ultimate party town and would be a great place to produce and market the British Party Popper. He established Fiestives (the name is a combination of the Spanish word “fiesta” and English word “festive”) to manufacture the product. Spriggs currently employs six people and utilizes temporary employees when he needs them. Joyce Spriggs (the British Party Popper is named in honor of her home country) uses her artistic talents to label the products and select the party favors that go inside each cylinder.
The company started an advertising campaign in April of last year. Fiestives is focusing on the consumer market, but Spriggs says the corporate market is also promising. He believes the British Party Popper will become popular at birthday parties and other special occasions, such as anniversaries, holiday celebrations and Super Bowl get-togethers. “There are 700,000 birthdays [in the United States] a day,” Spriggs points out. The company has developed a special Las Vegas version of the product, which contains dice, playing cards and other Las Vegas-themed mementos. Spriggs hopes tourists will take them home, where they will be seen by others who will want them for their parties.
Despite these efforts, Fiestives is not yet profitable. Spriggs pumped his own money into the company and borrowed from friends and relatives. More funding is needed to take the company to the next level and get the word out to a nation that is not yet familiar with the product, he said. “Our forté is manufacturing,” said Spriggs. “We just need to find a way to sell more.”