smoking habit. Suppliers of standard
vaping equipment, particularly in the UK,
were few and far between and no-one
was making more advanced devices
generally available.
“The idea began to form of combining
all my skills to create a top-class online
vape-shop that would be at least as
good, if not better, than the tiny number
of suppliers that were around at that
time.”
She started the business in the UK, with
Keith providing first advice and then
more and more involvement from the
US. And vaping changed their lives still
further: Keith moved to the UK... where
the two married.
“Keith and I agreed that we wanted to
take all this uncertainty out of the vapebuying process. Vaping forums are great
for the latest news and views, but at the
end of the day, even if people are raving
about something, you need to know that
where you buy it from can be trusted.
With Crème de Vape, customers know
everything has been stringently tested.
That’s an important part of what we give
our customers - reassurance.”
Keith adds “We based our company
ethos fundamentally on what we would
personally want from a company, which
is why we knew we had to test every
single product we sold - and not just a
quick drag or taste; we needed to really
put it through its paces.
This means Lisa and Keith test every
device by using it for at least a week or
two, checking for handling, performance,
leaks, everything. As Keith says, “If we
wouldn’t buy it for ourselves or the team,
it doesn’t make it to the website. The list
of products that don’t make the grade is
far longer than the
list of those that do.”
The only slight
drawback to this is
that there is now
a huge hardware
graveyard at Crème
de Vape HQ. “It takes
up almost an entire
room - all rejects
that just didn’t meet
our standards or
expectations,” says
Keith.
But corners cannot
be cut. “Even if you
have been vaping for
years, the industry
changes so fast that
many avid vapers
struggle to keep
up! We see it as
our responsibility
to ensure that our
customers have
access to the most up-to-date vaping
equipment - and we’re actually the
sole UK distributor for several product
ranges.”
As well as the highest standards of
quality and innovation, Crème de Vape
“The vaping industry is
on the brink of its biggest
change yet, and only
those that are prepared
and willing to go that
extra mile or two will
survive and thrive”
know there is still more to customer
satisfaction. “Right from the start, what
was also centrally important was superfast shipment and a live inventory, so
no customer ever has to experience
the disappointment of choosing and
ordering something that is out of stock
or back-ordered. And at the same time
we wanted to be great value for money
- most of the time we are actually less
expensive than our competitors, even
with all the extra reassurance we offer.”
So why would such a successful
company, with a great worldwide
reputation and goodwill, change its
name?
In short: legal reasons. A number of other
vaping shops around the world have
used the ‘Cloud9’ name in recent years,
and Lisa and Keith knew their hard
earned reputation risked being tarnished
by other vendors. After two years of
legal disputes, stress and lawyers’ fees,
they decided to move on and re-brand
their beloved, hard worked-for Cloud9.
They had faith that their thousands of
loyal customers would embrace the new
brand, knowing that Crème de Vape
would stand as firmly for all the same
things Cloud9 did, and perhaps, going
into the challenges of the TPD, even
more.
The vaping industry is on the brink of
its biggest change yet, and only those
that are prepared and willing to go that
extra mile or two will survive and thrive.
Crème de Vape have been a trusted part
of the vape scene, both in the UK and
internationally, for the past 6 years - and
have every intention of continuing to do
so for many more years.
VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE WINTER EDITION 175