Let the bubble games begin
(Photography courtesy of Oscap Ip)
STORY BY KIRAN R. KHAN
“Come and Play – Leave the rest to the Toronto Bubble Factory.”
That’s the motto of the two-month-old bubble sports and games provider that rents body-sized soft plastic bubbles people can wear and then try to play sports like soccer, football or dodge ball. Teams of players compete while suited in the roly-poly bubble costumes from head to knee, safeguarding themselves from their opponents.
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“We rent out our specialized bubble suits and facilitate games across Toronto and the GTA,” said Oscar Ip, a Western University graduate and the founder of the company. “We pride ourselves in our superior customer service and unique product offering.”
Ip and William Truong started the company in September. Any kind of event can be organized with the company, whether corporate, birthday parties, or a student getaway.
“We were invited to a friends birthday party to play bubble soccer,” said Ip. “Afterwards, we saw that there was an opportunity to start a similar business that could make the end-to-end experience.”
Ip said that it was their love for sports and keeping active which convinced them to take the idea to another level.
The cost is $30 to $40 per person, depending on where the event is held, such as community centres or indoor gym, since the company does not yet own its own facility.
“The fact that the customers really like is that we’re mobile,” said Ip. “They’re not driving an hour across the city.”
To book an appointment, customers can drop a line on the company’s Facebook page or send an email. Ip and Truong will then find a facility that is conveniently located and meets the needs of the customer. When the details are worked out, the bubble suits are delivered. The customers then have two full-time attendants running games and acting as referees.
“They like the customer service aspect,” said Ip. “Tell us you want to play and we’ll take care of it.”
The Toronto Bubble Factory generally run games weekday evenings and all day during the weekend.
“It’s kind of a new idea, a lot of people have not heard about it and others have seen it but didn’t know it was available,” said Melissa Tang, Sheridan marketing student and the Bubble Factory promoter. “First we reached to friends which was easier to gather attention. They love the fact that it’s different from the soccer game and are not limited to bubble soccer. There are other fun games as well which makes the company stand out more.”
Tang said that they hope to track this initiative back to Sheridan to build new relationships and let students and teachers have the fun right here at the college.
The games are varied.
“A lot of our competitors, they provide the bubbles and they just set up the games,” said Ip. “We just don’t do bubble soccer, we come up with unique games which incorporate the use of bubbles. For example, in last week’s event, we set up games like a bubble wrestling competition, bubble dodge ball, along with the bubble soccer game, each with different rules to give it a new vibe.”
Word of mouth has played a big role along with her course work in promoting the business, said Tang.
“I was there when Oscar and William started to talk about this business. It was quiet captivating when we first played it in Toronto,” said Tang. “Oscar wanted to start a business, which wasn’t hard. The hard thing was promoting it. This is where my coursework came in.”
Coming back from a marketing program, Tang said that she tries her best to help them in promoting the business by utilizing what she has learned, whether it’s done by word of mouth or promoting it on social media
Ip hopes to bring this company to a new level and promote it even more widely. He wants everyone to have the chance to try this sport and have fun, while making as much out of it, as possible.
“We’re a new company,” said Ip. “We got through the hard part which was setting it up. Now we’re taking care of the harder part – to get it established.”
For more information, visit: www.facebook.com/torontobubblefactory
