The brainchild of a former Highlander, Krabooz hermit crabs, is set to take over the world.
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Anthony Torr, who grew up in the Highlands, is the creator of The Krabooz brand which makes pet ownership fun and engaging for children.
Krabooz hermit crabs are sold in Petbarn stores across the country, including the Mittagong store.
In 2017 The Krabooz will launch in the United States, there is a manufacturing hub in China and Mr Torr said there were discussions to distribute in Japan.
Yabbie TV, another associated brand will be launched in the United Kingdom.
“We realised there was a global opportunity for what we were doing,” Mr Torr said.
There are four tribes and each has educational pillars to help teach children.
The Somago tribe is all about healthy living, the K-Hud tribe teaches children about the environment, the cha cha tribe is about self confidence and the Coomara tribe is about anti-bullying.
Children can adopt a hermit crab to look after at home or they can also be used in the classroom.
Mr Torr said a whole school curriculum was available to download for free online for preschool and primary school students.
While children of all ages can learn about pet ownership, Mr Torr said for children who wanted to look after the pets themselves, they needed to be at least seven years of age.
“I think seven to 12 because they’ve got to have that understanding about what it takes to look after them,” he said.
“Parents can look after them and kids can engage with them but I think if a kid’s going to look after them should be around that seven or above.”
In a world first, a Krabooz app has been developed to help children look after the hermit crab.
Each week alerts are sent to remind the child to feed the hermit crab, give it a treat or change the water.
At the end of the week, a report is sent to parents so they can keep a track of how the child and pet are going.
“It’s taking the responsibility of pet ownership away from the parent and giving it to the child and educating them about what it takes to look after animals properly,” Mr Torr said.
“There’s so many social benefits to pet ownership and if kids can get that in an early age they’re in a better position to understand things like how to look after other people, other animals and general nurturing and caring for others.”
They have also developed an animation series which will feature The Krabooz.
Mr Torr’s family is well known in the area through Reynolds Motors which became Torr Mitsubishi in the 1990s.
His father and grandfather were involved in Apex Bowral and in Rotary, while his grandmother Eileen still resides in Bowral.
Visit www.krabooz.com for more information.
The app can be downloaded at:
Apple https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/krabooz-carez/id1165167665?ls=1&mt=8
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.krabooz.app