The Krak'in

Inventing the Krak’in Shotgun Tool — From Idea to #1 on TikTok Shop

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A Story from Co-Founder Nick Widmann:

I wasn’t trying to start a business—I was just messing around with a 3D printer.

It was the summer of 2020, and I had a little downtime before starting a full-time job (doing medical device development at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia). I started printing gadgets for fun: misting hose adapters, a thermostat controlling robot, even a fountain. One night I tried printing a shotgun tool for beer. That was the first project my friends seemed to care about, so I kept working on it. Working toward what would eventually become the Krak’in, the world’s #1 shotgun tool.

The very first prototype was printed in PLA with a TPU rubber gasket. It sort of worked—you stabbed it into the can and drank through a tube—but it leaked like crazy, the seal wasn’t strong, and the flow wasn’t smooth. I became obsessed with fixing it.

I tried changing the seal geometry. The gasket printed in TPU wasn’t flexible enough. So I bought a new material: Ninjaflex. It was more rubbery and seemed promising. I even tried corkscrew-style entries to get a cleaner puncture without denting the can.

No luck.

I started studying other shotgun tools on the market and realized many of them worked by hooking onto the bottom of the can and using leverage to puncture a hole—then you’d drink directly from the can, just like you would with a key.

That sparked the next big idea: What if I combined that leverage concept with a built-in tube and drinking spout? Something that punctures the can cleanly, routes the liquid through internal holes in the tip, and out through a tube.

I tested dozens of variations. Some worked better than others—but most still leaked.

Eventually, I found a design that sealed well and didn’t leak… most of the time.

At that point, I was still facing three major issues:

1. Leakage – Even the “good” prototypes didn’t work 100% of the time.
   
2. Can sizes – The tools only fit certain diameters (White Claw vs. Four Loko? Totally different).
   
3. Scalability – The large rubber gaskets were complex and time-consuming to 3D print.
   

To fix all three, I made a breakthrough: the trampoline flap.

I redesigned the gasket to be a thin silicone flap that was connected at the center and edges. It flexed to fit any can size and kept constant pressure against the surface for a better seal. This design was much easier to produce—and worked significantly better.

The other major change was how the flaps were produced. Initially, I tried printing the flaps in flexible filaments (TPU, Ninjaflex), but they didn’t stretch right, weren’t thick enough, and the surface finish wasn’t great. Eventually I figured out how to cut them from silicone baking sheets using a Cricut machine. That worked!

Patents

In May of 2021, I filed my first provisional patent application. This was a BIG investment for me at the time and the first major leap I took toward making this idea into a real, sellable product. In hindsight, this patent, along with the rest of the patents and trademarks we filed, were some of the best investments I made. We later used it to combat thousands of knockoffs on Amazon, Alibaba, TikTok Shop, and other online marketplaces.

Getting Ready to Launch

I built a little print farm in my apartment and ran it 24/7, making around 50 units per day. I never sold those early 3D printed Krak’ins—they were just for testing and some early content creation. The surface finish wasn’t good enough, and I knew I could do better.

The first real production run (500 units) was outsourced using Multi Jet Fusion—a high-end powder-based 3D printing process. The company shipped me the parts, and I hand-assembled each one using silicone flaps I cut myself.

We launched in February 2022 with no ad budget, just some basic content I posted on TikTok. After a few weeks, one video randomly went viral (3 million views) and we sold out of the first 500 units in under a month.

While we were sold out, I started working with a manufacturer in China to produce the next 5,000 units. This batch used SLS 3D printing for the plastic body and compression-molded silicone flaps. They handled the printing, assembly, and packaging. Then I had them shipped directly to our 3rd party logistics company (3PL) to ship to customers when orders were placed on our online store (initially hosted on Wix, later on Shopify). The manufacturing, shipping, and logistics aspects of the business were almost entirely hands-off for me at this point. I was able to focus on marketing and next steps (e.g. injection molding), and also my full time job that I still had at the time.

The Injection Molding Challenge

To scale, I had to leave 3D printing behind and invest in injection molding. That meant redesigning the entire product—eliminating undercuts, adding draft angles, and ensuring consistent wall thicknesses.

My first plan was to split the Krak’in into two halves and ultrasonic weld them. After several weeks of discussion with our manufacturer, we decided it wouldn’t be the best solution. The welded seam wouldn’t handle the sharp tip geometry we needed and it would introduce unnecessary complexity into the manufacturing process.

Eventuallu, I landed on a 3-part mold with a side-action pin for the hole. It preserved all the critical dimensions (hook angle, tip sharpness, can curvature) while giving us an incredibly strong, polished result.

The Krak’in 2.0 launched in summer 2022, about six months after we sold the first units.

Scaling Up and Going Viral

We had lots of viral videos on the Krak’in (this one for example with over 200M views), but nothing was more viral than our Will It Krak’in? video series on TikTok. The format was simple: shotgun something ridiculous with the Krak’in. Drinks, sodas, foods, whatever. It worked. Between that series and other content, we racked up over 1 BILLION views on the Krak’in.

In early 2023, we were selling on Shopify and Amazon. Sales were steadily climbing and we hit our first $100k month a little over a year after we launched.

Then came TikTok Shop. We joined in Spring 2023 and quickly realized how powerful it was. Customers watching our videos on TikTok could place an order directly on TikTok without leaving the platform. Sales started to climb, fast. 

Even more significant than our videos were videos made by affiliates, other creators on TikTok that promoted our product in exchange for commission on sales. We didn’t pay upfront—just gave them a great product and a reason to share. It snowballed. Thousands of creators joined in, and we became the #1 product on TikTok Shop in July 2023, and did over $1M in sales in a single month.

What We’re Doing Now

Since then, the Krak’in has sold hundreds of thousands of units, it’s been used by celebrities like Joe Rogan and Joey Chestnut, and it’s amassed over 1 BILLION views on social media. Some other major Wild Man Drinking initiatives include:

• Krak’in Platinum – CNC-machined aluminum collector’s edition ($200 each)
  
• Custom Krak’ins – co-branded Krak’ins with other companies
  
• Retail & Wholesale – selling the Krak’in in stores (like Spencer’s)
  

More Innovative Drinking Products – we have dozens of product ideas in the pipeline to build on the success of the Krak’in, including RIPTIDE: The Shotgun Bottle.

Why This Matters to Future Clients

The Krak’in isn’t just a fun drinking tool—it’s a proof of concept.

We went from napkin sketch to mass production, from handmade prototypes to viral product, from 3D printing in my apartment to being the top-selling product on one of the biggest commerce platforms in the world.

If you’re sitting on a product idea, Wild Man Lab can help you bring it to life. We handle everything from early prototyping to full-blown production and launch. If it’s got potential, we’ll help you build it—and scale it.