If you’re unfamiliar, Shark Tank is a show on ABC in which entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to billionaires in the hopes of turning their small business into a giant by selling everything from gourmet cakes to wacky bicycles. Ideas and products that get funded often need someone to fabricate them, and many of the businesses end up turning to China manufacturing as their answer. In that spirit, we at ITI have created a list of 5 products we would love to see on our assembly line.
1. Plastic Products – Ava the Elephant
This simple idea was thought of by a mom who was having trouble giving her baby a liquid medication. She then came up with the idea of this cute little elephant as a delivery system. With no mold and no backers, Tiffany Krumins went to the sharks for funding. One of them called Ava an idea, not a business. But the only female shark saw potential, and just two years later, sales exceeded $1 million, not bad for the initial investment of $50,000.
2. Fiber Fix
We have no idea what this product is made of, but we do know that we want it. Far superior to duct tape, this specialty-manufactured tape can fix just about anything you wrap it around. This includes broken chair legs, shovel handles, even plumbing pipes. Just wet and wrap, and you can fix things with no contracting know-how or visit to a home improvement store. It even comes with a money back guarantee. One of the Sharks has spent $250,000 on this product and it remains to be seen how soon the money will be earned back, but we think it won’t be long.
3. Rubber Products – Drop Stop
Ever drop anything in that no-man’s-land space between your car seat and the middle console? It usually meant the item was either gone forever, or that you had to wait until you could pull over, exit the vehicle, and push the seat back and/or forward in order to find the item. Made from Neoprense, the Drop Stop fits between the seat and console of any car or truck to instantly keep all dropped items out of the no-fly zone. The initial investment of $300k turned into $500k in sales immediately after the show. With deals at QVC and Walmart, this little product is predicted to sell big.
4. Plastic Products – Chord Buddy
Have rock star aspirations but don’t want to go to music school? Get the next best thing with this simple, yet brilliant invention. This plastic accessory works just a like a real guitar and teaches you the basic guitar chords, which makes it perfect for adults and kids alike. The shark’s initial investment of $175,00 paid off big in just one year, when sales reaches $1.3 million. It also didn’t hurt that country music star John Rich was its spokesman.
And if you have a revolutionary product in need of China manufacturing, contact us today to see how we can reduce your manufacturing costs.
