Crabby Bags makes enjoying seafood boils easier than ever, turning a cherished tradition into a fun and flavorful experience. Keish and Lafayette Warren founded the Georgia-based company, a disabled veteran, minority, and woman-owned small family business, in 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
The couple aims to bring the bold and delicious tastes of the South to kitchens, blending regional flavors nationwide with user-friendly packaging.
What’s a Seafood Boil?
For the uninitiated, a seafood boil is a harmonious medley of seafood and hearty sides boiled together to create a communal meal. “The essence of a seafood boil comes from making a meal from what you have on hand,” Keish explains.
“Traditionally, the key components include corn, potatoes, and sausage, but a seafood boil can contain anything you can get your hands on. The defining feature, however, is the spices—they give it the distinctive flavor that sets it apart.”
Spices used in seafood boils vary geographically, like Creole or Cajun spices. “It’s important to explain what ‘Cajun’ is because many people don’t know the difference between Cajun and Creole,” the South Carolina native says.
She continues, “Cajuns, historically Arcadians, settled in the middle of Louisiana, away from the coastal areas where Creoles typically lived. In the Cajun region, resources were more limited compared to areas like New Orleans, where access to seafood and water was easier. Back then, Cajuns relied on what was readily available from the land. Crawfish, for example, became a staple because it would appear abundantly after heavy rains, making it easy to gather. Corn and potatoes were also staples in seafood boils because they’re simple to grow in most areas.”
Mediocre Lunches Spawn a Business
Pre-pandemic, Keish’s lunch breaks at Delta Airlines were a struggle, with overpriced and underwhelming cafeteria food. She got creative by preparing Lowcountry (meaning shrimp) boils in steam bags for her work lunches, drawing attention and admiration from colleagues.
“They kept commenting, ‘Wow, you made that here?’ And I’d nod and keep eating. But it kept coming up. People were fascinated that I’d made something so good and easy to eat at work. I didn’t think much of it at the time. I’ve always been a bit of a daydreamer, lost in my own world, and the idea didn’t feel like a big deal,” recalls the mother of three.
Fast forward six months into the pandemic, and life looked very different for the Warrens. “I was working from home, our son Kani was in fifth grade trying to do school on his laptop, and my husband Lafayette was on his laptop for work,” Keish says.
“Lunch became an issue. Kani is easygoing, but I’d tell him, ‘Let me finish this last thing,’ and 30 minutes would turn into an hour. I’d look up, and he’d be eating noodles again.”
That’s when inspiration struck. “I remembered those steam bags and thought, ‘Maybe I can do that seafood boils again.’ Lafayette had recently overdone it with a 30-pound box of snow crab and tons of crawfish, so I portioned the leftovers into bags for Kani to heat up for lunch.”
Being a perfectionist, Keish couldn’t stop there. “I went down a rabbit hole on Amazon for the perfect little bags, added extra sauce, and made them look cute. When friends saw them, they said, ‘This is such a great idea! You should sell these.’”
By Stephanie Teasley
