Fishing for fun? Wayzata-based company mails live goldfish
(FOX 9)
WAYZATA, Minn. (FOX 9) - Entrepreneur by trade, new ideas aren’t unusual for Mike Reger, but his latest venture is unlike any he or anyone else for that matter has ever had before.
“We’ve essentially invented a solution to send an entire goldfish kit, with a live goldfish, in the mail in one to two days,” said Reger.
The new company based in Wayzata, Minnesota is called simply MailAGoldfish.com. A business idea born during a pandemic - inspired by the current way of life.
“A lot of our orders recently are grandparents sending gifts to grandkids because they can’t go to the birthday party, or they are choosing to social distance,” said Reger.
The goldfish comes with everything you need to make sure it has a happy and healthy life.
“It comes with a one-gallon fish bowl, two pounds of aquarium gravel, goldfish flakes, a decorative plant and tap water conditioner,” said Reger.
Reger and his sons build the boxes and prepare them for shipment. The fish are delivered six days a week.
The fish are dropped into a cardboard mailing tube into a bowl in a thermal bag in a box, which is sent right from their fish factory.
“The only thing that can hurt these fish is temperature,” said Reger. “And the fish are packed in pure oxygen, so any movement of the box disturbs the surface of the water and the pure oxygen oxygenates the water.”
If the fish is going to a warm weather destination, the team adds an ice pack to keep the little fish cool.
“We’ve sent more than 200 fish in the last month, and we haven’t had a fish arrive unhealthy yet,” he said.
The goldfish are being shipped around the lower 48 states to grandkids, friends and college freshmen.
“A lot of these students can’t have a roommate because a COVID, so the parents are sending a live goldfish via MailAGoldfish.com so they have a roommate,” said Reger.
For now, the operation will remain in the Wayzata garage before it eventually moves to its distribution center in Eagan.