Organic, Not Gluten-Free: Gold Standard for the Best Business Idea Generation and Product Marketing Practices

Your Ultimate Guide to Business Idea Generation and Becoming a Product Marketing Specialist.

For years, I have wondered how to change a well-digested narrative and help others understand that you don't have to spend years finding the 'Perfect Business Idea'. It is with great honor that I report that the only way a business idea can lead to a prosperous business is when the chosen idea comes from a place of passion.

I’ve seen business ideas that are nothing short of brilliant come to flourish greatly in huge business ventures. But when I stop to put myself in the position of hearing the initial pitch, I can only imagine the laugh I would have had. My two favorites of all time are, without a doubt, Scrub Daddy and Liquid Death. Before I elaborate on how genius one is thought to be if one can successfully meet untold needs, let’s review the simplicity of each venture.

To paint the picture of my first mentioned adoration, I consulted the most reputable source on the internet- Reddit! Unsurprisingly, in a community titled Cleaning Tips, user ashphxdel started the thread “Are Scrub Daddies Worth It?”  and voiced their initial thoughts:

“I’ve seen a bunch of advertisements and influencers raving about them, but are they really a game changer?”

To this, they got 214 upvotes and a whopping 171 comments. It’s safe to say the cleaning community had A LOT to say!

My favorite comment was from user s0ulever:

“It's dishwasher safe, stays hard when cold, gets softer when hot, and I enjoy pretending to feed it when I wash a spoon. I came from the land of rectangle sponges and I'm not going back.”

Who would have thought a product that a majority of us interact with on a daily basis (I hope) could take on such versatility? How much gardening would it have taken for such an idea to be brought forward? As a rebuttal, one may try to argue against how genius one can be considered if they are just enhancing an already existing product. However, I stand by my comment; it’s pure genius! And don’t worry, I will elaborate later on.

As for Liquid Death, think of a Monster Energy Drink can. The black background with a scary-looking ghoul-like design of the letter M. Without knowing what is inside the can, anyone can imagine what monstrosity it must hold (saw what I did there:) ?). Being completely serious, the can of Liquid Death is a million times more intimidating than that of the aforementioned. With such a name and looking like a tattooed stalwart, such a product must live up to such an image.

For those of my naive readers, I’ll drop the ball and let you in on a secret: Liquid Death is just another brand of water in a can. 

How anti-climactic, right? A dishwashing sponge with a smiley face and a tattooed can of water; the multimillion-dollar ideas- Wow.

Well, get your pens and papers out class, because it’s time for taking notes: the name of the game is innovation.

Earlier, I voiced strong arguments that one can certainly be praised for making developments on a concept that already exists. Here’s why: as a market researcher, nothing is more satisfying than reporting to a client that their version of an existing ‘stronghold’ has as much potential or more potential than what inspired it. To put it into perspective, there is hardly a business idea that one can think of which will not already have an existing variant. However, the devil- or genius in this case, is most certainly in the details. Both of the products looked beyond their regular function and necessity, and found another need to satisfy. 

Scrub Daddy evolved from simply being a sponge to having a water temperature-induced texture change to suit the varying materials of dinnerware and cookware, as well as, having eyes and a mouth to give utensils and cutlery a cleaner wash. On the other hand, Liquid Death is merely a step up from a trendy water bottle that incentivizes one to drink more water.

By definition, innovation means creating a new idea, item, or concept. However, in the business world, as a creative, as an entrepreneur, as a member of the board, as a product developer, and as an investor, innovation means solving a problem. Similarly, peak innovation involves solving a problem that people are not aware they are having until you give them a solution. It is then highly unlikely that you are going to create something that fixes a problem that no one has thought of in the history of forever and hasn't already attempted to fix. Nevertheless, this should not stop you. Making people aware of a solution suddenly grants them a new problem in their lives.

Business Innovation cares not if a problem or solution already exists. It focuses on providing a new solution to a problem that people did not know that they had. It involves making a better version of something that exists and making sure that it solves a whole new problem. Literally everyone was fine with using a boring sponge to run over their plates, pots, pans, and utensils. Similarly, no one gave a second thought to hydrating normally with a regular plastic bottle or even a more sophisticated ‘save the turtles’ reusable. Yet, suddenly, there was an uproar over whether or not a traditional sponge could stand against the goofy-looking magic sponge. Also, one must complete the edgy look by drinking overpriced water from a beer-looking can because it must certainly grant its drinker, or anyone holding this can, aura points and a character boost. 

To sum all of the above up, let’s consider what the two tycoons have managed to successfully grasp while entering an already saturated market in hopes of satisfying an ‘artificial’ problem- they concurrently sold a brand rather than only a solution. To go back to the beginning, the best businesses come from a place of passion! They were not only interested in a few buyers or entering a shared space to get a cut of the pie. Instead, they led with originality and used this as a stepping stone. They did not think about offering an out-of-the-box idea. Instead, they cultivated an out-of-the-box brand to sell a house staple and a commodity.

Remember, Organic, Not Gluten-Free. You need not change a concept completely for it to be spectacular. Just be sure that it meets the intended purpose and is crafted passionately.

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