A little lesson in Anatomy

The Anatomy of a new product.   Development: Part One

We meet multiple times a month to discuss "the week that was" and to toss around new product ideas.  Ideas that are new to us anyway. 

 One idea that came up concerned oil diffusers for the home and office.  We have been making massage oils with fragrances and thought this might be a natural extension for us. 

So we started the process to see what kind of containers we could use but knowing the primary market would be promotional product rather than package for retail.  We quickly discovered that the traditional size jar and oils involved with retail diffusers were going to be too big and too costly. 

 As we started up the path to downsizing the product, a new thought occurred.  Using the existing and available containers we usually work with, can we develop a small tube for use in the car or cubicle or home that held pre-soaked pieces of bamboo?

 

The lab made some up and we discovered that the fragrance evaporated to quickly.  So the project was parked for a few weeks.  Then we got back after it and made the following decision. We need to test a vaiety of substrates to find a workable solution.

We are testing a wide variety of materials from cork to cotton to find  a vehicle that will provide consistent  and longer term aroma therapy…come back and find out how we did!

Calorie free strawberry cheesecake

 

One of the good/bad things about our little enterprise is the wonderful smells that permeate the  atmosphere on some days.  Yesterday it was Chris and Lee making up some strawberry cheesecake lip balm for a client.  Good part was a whole day of a wonderful scent floating around.  Bad part is that it literally ignited everybody's  taste buds and I am sure more food was consumed than was necessary!

If you want to make your own wonderful smells, here is a nice recipe for actual strawberry cheesecake and not lip balm..

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 9-inch graham cracker crust, baked

Preparation:

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs until thick and light yellow. Add 1/2 cup of sugar and the flour, beating until blended. Pour the egg mixture into a measuring cup. In the same bowl, beat cream cheese with a small amount of the evaporated milk until smooth. Add remaining milk, the lemon juice, and the grated lemon peel; beat until smooth and well blended. Pour egg mixture into the cream cheese mixture; beat just until blended.
Pour mixture into the graham cracker crust. Bake at 325° for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Strawberry Glaze

• 1 pint fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• few drops red food coloring, optional

Cut 10 to 12 strawberries in half; arrange in a single layer, cut side down, over the cooled cheesecake. Crush enough remaining strawberries to make 1/3 cup; put in saucepan. Stir in 1/3 cup water and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Press through a strainer to make 1/2 cup of puree. Return the 1/2 cup puree to the saucepan. Mix together the sugar and cornstarch and stir into the puree in saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue cooking and stirring until thickened and clear. Add food coloring, if desired. Cool slightly; spoon evenly over strawberries on cheesecake. Cool and store, covered, in refrigerator.

Want to know a secret?

I have a lot of secrets.  Things that no one should know.  I have secrets about products that clients want to have perceived as being made by them and not us.  I have secret formulas. I have secret processes.  I have secret ingredients.  In fact I have secret documents!

In the business we are in, if you can't keep a secret, everybody loses.  Like real life, but instead of hurt feelings you get hurt financials.

I am asked all the time to divulge secrets.  But I can not do that.  When a client asks us to keep something confidential, we do.  When a client asks us not to disclose, we will not disclose.  Out feeling is that we are an extension of our clients and their best interest is our best interest.

What do we do that is so special it requires secrets?  We make lotions and potions that others market under their own brands.  We may add a secret ingredient to a common base formula.  We may brand a common formula that is enhanced by marketing.  We make a lot of product and we do it for others.

So, yes indeed I have a secret or two!

The Pied Piper