Who Does Exploding Kittens Use for Warehousing & Fulfillment?

Exploding Kittens uses Blackbox as their primary third-party logistics (3PL) and fulfillment partner.

Introduction to Exploding Kittens

Founded through a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign in 2015, Exploding Kittens has grown from a single card game into a leading tabletop gaming company. Their flagship product, the Exploding Kittens card game, is described as a "kitty-powered version of Russian Roulette" that combines strategic gameplay with quirky humor and illustrations from The Oatmeal creator Matthew Inman.

What began as a modest crowdfunding campaign with a $10,000 goal quickly became Kickstarter history when it raised a staggering $8.7 million from 219,000 backers in just 30 days. Today, Exploding Kittens has expanded its product line to include:

• Over a dozen card games and expansions
• Physical games like Throw Throw Burrito
• Mobile applications
• Puzzles and collectibles

With more than 11 million games sold to date, Exploding Kittens has established itself as a major force in the casual gaming market, creating products that appeal to both family-friendly audiences and adult players seeking humor-driven entertainment.

Why Exploding Kittens Needed to Optimize Fulfillment

The explosive success of Exploding Kittens' Kickstarter campaign created immediate fulfillment challenges that the founding team was unprepared to handle on their own:

• Unexpected scale: Their initial purchase order jumped to 700,000 games when they had originally planned for just a few thousand units
• Logistical complexity: With 219,000 backers spread globally, they needed sophisticated shipping and tracking capabilities
• Warehousing requirements: Storing hundreds of thousands of game units required significant warehouse space
• Customer service demands: Tracking orders and responding to customer inquiries at scale became a major concern
• International shipping complications: Customs clearance and global logistics presented additional hurdles

As a creative team focused on game development, Exploding Kittens' founders recognized the need for a logistics partner that could handle their unique fulfillment requirements while allowing them to focus on their core business. This is where Blackbox entered the picture.

Partnership Details and Results

The partnership between Exploding Kittens and Blackbox proved to be a perfect match for both companies. As a division of Cards Against Humanity, Blackbox understood the specific needs of card game manufacturers and Kickstarter campaigns.

For Exploding Kittens, the partnership delivered impressive results:

• On-time fulfillment: Successfully delivered nearly all Kickstarter pledges on schedule despite the massive scale
• Cost efficiency: Fixed pricing of approximately $5 per shipment plus 5% of retail cost provided predictable fulfillment expenses
• Brand integrity: Blackbox's white-labeled packaging ensured the customer experience remained authentically Exploding Kittens without third-party branding
• Scaling capabilities: As Exploding Kittens' product line expanded, Blackbox scaled accordingly, handling what was described as "the largest project Blackbox had shipped" at that time

Perhaps most importantly, the partnership freed the Exploding Kittens team to focus on creating and marketing games while leaving the logistics to specialists. This strategic decision contributed significantly to their continued growth and success.

The Blackbox 3PL Solution

Blackbox provided Exploding Kittens with a comprehensive fulfillment solution tailored to their needs as a rapidly growing gaming company. Their services included:

1. End-to-end e-commerce infrastructure: Integration with Exploding Kittens' website through a customized "buy button" and backend services
2. Distributed warehousing: Access to multiple fulfillment centers throughout the country, functioning as a single logistics network
3. Branded packaging: Custom packaging solutions that maintained Exploding Kittens' brand identity without Blackbox branding
4. International shipping: Handling of customs clearance and global distribution
5. Inventory management: Real-time tracking and forecasting to prevent stockouts

Blackbox's approach has been described as "the fulfillment world's equivalent of Amazon Web Services," abstracting away the complex hardware and infrastructure so that creative companies like Exploding Kittens can focus on what they do best.

Operating from facilities in California, the Netherlands, and Dubai, with over 120,000 square feet of warehouse space, Blackbox provided Exploding Kittens with the global reach needed to serve their worldwide customer base.

Lessons for Other eCommerce Brands

The successful partnership between Exploding Kittens and Blackbox offers valuable insights for other eCommerce brands considering 3PL partnerships:

• Plan for unexpected success: Having a scalable fulfillment solution in place before launching a product can prevent logistics nightmares if demand exceeds expectations
• Find industry-specific partners: Working with a 3PL that understands your specific market (in this case, crowdfunded games) provides added value and expertise
• Prioritize brand consistency: Choose partners who can maintain your brand identity throughout the fulfillment process
• Focus on core competencies: Outsourcing logistics allows creative teams to concentrate on product development and marketing rather than warehousing and shipping

By following Exploding Kittens' example, other eCommerce brands can create strategic partnerships that transform potential fulfillment challenges into opportunities for growth and customer satisfaction.

Is Blackbox Right for Your Business?

While the partnership between Exploding Kittens and Blackbox has been successful, every eCommerce business has unique needs. Consider these factors when evaluating whether Blackbox or a similar 3PL provider is right for your business:

• Business stage and volume: Blackbox is particularly well-suited for high-growth companies with substantial order volumes
• Product type: Their experience with board games, card games, and similar products makes them ideal for these categories
• Funding model: Blackbox has specialized expertise with crowdfunded products and the unique fulfillment challenges they present
• International needs: With global facilities, they're equipped to handle worldwide distribution
• Budget considerations: Their pricing model (fixed fee plus percentage) works best for products with healthy margins

For businesses considering a 3PL partnership, services like Fulfill.com's 3PL matchmaking service can help identify the best provider based on your specific requirements, location preferences, and budget constraints.

Final Thoughts

The partnership between Exploding Kittens and Blackbox demonstrates how the right 3PL relationship can be transformative for an eCommerce business. By entrusting their logistics operations to specialists, Exploding Kittens was able to focus on creating innovative games while delivering a seamless customer experience.

For growing eCommerce brands facing similar fulfillment challenges, finding the right logistics partner can be the difference between getting bogged down in operational details and scaling successfully. Whether you're preparing to launch a Kickstarter campaign or looking to optimize your existing fulfillment operations, the example set by Exploding Kittens offers valuable lessons in strategic partnership.

When evaluating potential 3PL partners, consider not just their warehousing and shipping capabilities, but their understanding of your specific industry, their ability to maintain your brand standards, and their capacity to scale alongside your business. With the right partner, like Exploding Kittens found in Blackbox, you can turn fulfillment from a challenge into a competitive advantage.