Chattanooga founder’s CPRWrap lands in 1,000+ CVS stores after a TikTok saved the company
CPRWrap guides bystanders through hand placement, compression depth and pace so panic doesn’t win in an emergency.
In the mid-2000s, Felicia Jackson’s two-year-old son’s life flashed before her eyes as he began choking in the back seat of her car. She was a CPR-certified medical professional and froze completely with fear and panic.
“He was going unconscious… Adrenaline was pumping. I was panicking. In the moment, I completely forgot my training,” she said.
Thankfully, her husband took the necessary actions to save their son.
From that experience, Jackson knew she needed a better solution for families and friends to administer life-saving care. In 2015, she began ideating CPRWrap to do just that. And today, her product can be found on 1,157 CVS store shelves.
“I knew lives could be saved if people knew what to do,” she said.
And the proof is in the fact that CPRWrap has been used to help resuscitate people.
The on-the-go emergency solution
CPR Wrap is a small emergency kit that lays over the distressed person and provides an administrator with simple step-by-step CPR instructions. CPRWrap has three sizes: adult, child, and infant.
The overlay doesn’t stick to the person, but it does give visual cues to ensure proper hand placement, depth of compression, and pace. The packaging also reminds the user to call 911.
“Even the simplest steps can slip away under stress,” Jackson said. ” We made it as easy as possible for people to use.”
Landing a deal with one of the biggest pharmacy chains in the States
Starting her business in Chattanooga, Jackson tapped into many different entrepreneurial resources in the Southeast.
- Mentorship from SCORE Chattanooga.
- LAUNCH Chattanooga Accelerator.
- Resources at The Company Lab (CO.LAB).
- Project Healthcare at Nashville Entrepreneur Center.
- Techstars in Texas.
- 2023 Tory Burch Foundation Fellows Program.
- Won $100,000 in 4th Annual Pharrell Williams’ Black Ambition Pitch Competition.
However, like so many startups and small businesses in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jackson started thinking about closing CPRWrap. She had been targeting rollout with CPR training organizations, and those partnerships hadn’t come to fruition as quickly as she expected.
“I had gotten discouraged and almost gave up in 2023,” she said. “But as a last effort, I made a TikTok account and posted one night, went to bed, and woke up to millions of views, likes, comments, and orders through TikTok shop.”
She said CPRWrap made more than $600,000 in one week after the video went viral, including more than $200,000 in sales in a single day.
“TikTok saved my company,” she said.
From there, TikTok added CPRWrap to its economic impact program and invited Jackson to take part in filming a TikTok commercial that aired during the Super Bowl.
Both the virality and the commercial thrust CPRWrap into the public eye, leading to major partnerships with organizations like Aero Healthcare and the National Safety Council, as well as retail interest from pharmaceutical chains like CVS.
As one of the largest drug stores in the U.S., CVS has nearly 9,000 stores. CPRWrap will be stocked on the shelves inside of more than 1,000 of them.
CPRWrap as the first line of defense
“In my eyes, I see CPRWrap in every household, every school, and with every new mother,” Jackson said.
It’s the tool she wishes she had in the back seat of her car nearly 20 years ago.
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