Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Product Research

I've decided to become an industry consultant doing product research. It seems that if I like something it will not sell. I first noticed the phenomenon when I was in college. I took a liking to Medford's Mustard. It was a nice sharp brown mustard that was inexpensive. It disappeared from the stores after a few years and I can't even find it on the web.

The same thing has happened repeatedly. Most recently it was my favorite breakfast cereal, Kellogg's Cinnamon Crunchers. I loved that stuff but my local markets stopped carrying it. I found some stores at a distance (40-80 miles away) that still had it so whenever I was in those areas I'd buy several boxes. Then it disappeared all together. I did a web search on it and found forum posts saying how bad Cinnamon Crunchers were. ???? I looked for a substitute and settled on Eggo Cinnamon cereal (I like cinnamon) but now that is disappearing from the stores too.

So here's the business plan: Send me a product you are considering making and I'll try it. If I like it maybe you should reconsider. If I love it, it will never make the cut with the general public. The only fee I would want for my service is that you guarantee me a lifetime supply of the products I love. The trouble is if you aren't going to make it because I like it...? I guess I need to rework the business plan.

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