Watch the invention / product development process

I have some basic information about the needs of the product, so I'm now working on the price points. The price points both retail & wholesale are needed. You can assume that everytime the product is resold from manufacturer to distributor to end there will be a mark-up added.

Example:
__________________Mark-up%______Price
Manufacturer____________________ $1.00
Distributor____________7%________ $1.07
Wholeseller__________35%________ $1.44
End User if resold_____30%________ $1.88

There's also a difference between price and cost. We hope to get the cost of manufacturing the product to be at least 30% below the price. In the case above that would mean our cost should be about $0.76.

With this product I'm going to stop at the wholesales price, since the product will most likely be sold in speciality stores to contractors.

I need to work with some wholesale companies to find the price of some competitive product. Which also means I need to find some competitive products.

I've found a couple of competitive products one is called Brick-it, the other Millinea. I need to research these two products before I continue developing mine........

I have been reviewing Brick-it, and they have a nice product. The difference is they have a veneer brick product which is actually thin tile. They do have a stone product but it looks like all the rest, cast concrete that uses mortar to secure into place. I need to continue to investigate theirs and others that are out there.

I found a material expanded pvc, that I may be able to use for the material. It can be used outside and is UV resistant (very important.) It is easily thermal formed and is relatively inexpensive.

I found a local supplier of the material and will start making a mold to see how easy the material forms. I am going to use concrete intially due to cost should be about $5 (as compared to urethane that would cost about $100-$150). It won't be as good but it will give me a good idea about the material properties.

Made some initial parts, the phot below shows the blanks and the formed / painted part. The picture shows the part before final trimming. The part is about 6" x 8" x 1". Doesn't look to bad for a first go round. I'm going to make several and see what they look like on a wall.

I have a meeting set-up with a potential manufacturing in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully, we can make an arrangement to further the development process.

Customer Input:

I have heard several complaints about exist technology used to build retaining walls: efflorescence (staining / discoloring of walls usually white streaks see picture, it is a little hard to see but it is there) which is a very common problem on a very high end product. No current solution to problem. Also, there has been no significant improvements in many years.

I went to the supplier and saw the problem first hand. Currently the only solution to the problem is cleaning using a harsh cleaner. Even though it does work, it doesn't prevent the discoloration. Therefore, there are still complaints. I also got information on the functionality of the product (what is needs to do) along with some requests from end uses:

- Needs to be easily installed.
- Installation methods, nailed, glued or other.
- Need to be able to cut shapes to fit installation.
- Cutting should use ordinary hand tools.

I will now start working on the following information:

- Cost / price points of products
- Sales volumes
- Competitive products

I'm think about a veneer solution. It may not be able to be used in retaining walls due to the strength required, but it could be used on existing walls and for cosmetic applications.

Also, I will start to look into a cleaning method that is better than existing methods of scraping etc.

Meet with a potential manufacturing partner and discussed the product and what would be needed in order to get it to market.

The meeting went well, they seemed interested but I don't want to get my hopes up to high. They need to discuss it between themselves and get back with me.

I found the company through a friend that once worked there. He got me the meeting where we meet with the owner and his production manager.

They have the right equipment to do the work, the big question is do they want to do it.

Hopefully we hear some good news in a week or so.

I spoke with the company yesterday and heard some encouraging news. They are interested working on the product, we just have to iron out some details. Such as who will pay for and who will do what. I will schedule a meeting in about a week (currently they are finishing up some other work) so we can discuss thee issues and the appropriate next steps. Did I ever mention, waiting is a big part of developing new products? Nothing ever moves as fast as you would like.

Still waiting, the manufacturing company is still evaluating the idea.