Crystal Couple’s PuzzleTwist Business is Skyrocketing

If you check out social media, you’ll likely see people posting pictures of completed puzzles.   Many people are turning to puzzles to provide an escape from the COVID-19 outbreak.

An example of a PuzzleTwist puzzle. Courtesy PuzzleTwist

That’s good news for companies like PuzzleTwist, which was created by a couple from Crystal. Tony and Candace Nelson still run the company out of their home.

“Fortunately for us, jigsaw puzzles have been a welcome break and a way to prevent getting cabin fever,” said PuzzleTwist owner Tony Nelson.

PuzzleTwist is not your typical Puzzle. That’s because the image on the box is slightly different from the puzzle you put together.

The unknown factor also makes things more challenging, but that’s not the goal.

“It’s also a nice pastime that’s not looking at a screen that also facilitates family discussions,” Nelson said.

PuzzleTwist is also a favorite booth at the Minnesota State Fair. See their booth in this story.

Online Sales Soar For PuzzleTwist

Courtesy PuzzleTwist

Ninety percent of their business is from retail sales, but with some stores closed, those sales dwindled. However, about two weeks ago, their online sales soared. Typically PuzzleTwist sells about five puzzles per day online, but now they’re getting hundreds of transactions each day.

“Our online sales have exploded, and we’re having a very difficult time keeping up to fill orders on time,” Nelson said. “We’re trying to fill the orders as quickly as we can. We can do mail orders from our house.”

But COVID-19 is impacting manufacturing. One of the plants that are used to produce puzzles is shut down due to the coronavirus outbreak.

“We’re in a little bit of a situation where the inventory we have is the inventory we have, and we’ll probably be selling out of a lot of it,” said Nelson. “I’m not sure how long this will last, but it’s nice to provide puzzles to people who want them and are looking for something to do.”

You can also find their puzzles online at puzzletwist.com or online at “Minnesota Makers” in Robbinsdale and “Good Things” in Maple Grove.

Crystal