Wouldn’t it be cool to create something that doesn’t yet exist? A ‘thing’ that you could bring to people’s lives to solve a problem or simply make life easier?
If you’ve answered yes, chances are you already have an idea and the desire of an inventor. But an idea is just a suggestion to a course of action - a mere aim or purpose that can be turned into something great if the right steps are taken.
So, if you have an idea, where to do you start?
Mann Creative Partners (MCP) has recently launched Invent2Retail (i2R) as a way to help individuals and small to medium-sized companies develop and present their ideas to the retail market.
i2R aims to take the guesswork out of developing new products by leveraging the design resources, intellectual property experience, manufacturing relationships and retail connections gained through MCP’s decades of successful product development.
“The process of bringing an idea to market can be daunting for first-time inventors,” says Leslie Mann, Principle at Mann Creative Partners and Team Creation Hong Kong (TC HK). “This is why we’ve developed what we call a ‘buyer ready package’. This package includes help with filing a provisional or non-provisional patent, developing full-concept designs, branding, packaging, producing working prototypes, obtaining tooling estimates, unit cost estimates, inbound shipping logistics, and a host of other items required for a prospective retail buyer to make a buying decision.”
For over 25 years, MCP and TC HK have developed and sold innovative product concepts directly to the mass retailers in the USA, Canada and abroad. The company has been manufacturing and marketing consumer products to major retailers such as Walmart, Target, Lowes, Dicks Sporting Goods, Feld Entertainment, Walgreens, Eckerd’s, Home Shopping Network, QVC and more.
What can you expect working with i2R?
“In the final stage of the program, we present the inventor’s idea/product to a buyer that best suits the product category,” explains Mann. “We will also aid the inventor in all areas of licensing their product to major manufacturers. In essence, we set up Invent2retail to help inventors not make mistakes.”
MCP works one-on-one with clients and makes it clear that very few new products end up on the store shelf. Mann says that before his team takes on a new client, they have to;
- Clearly understand all the risks involved
- Have the means to invest in our services
- Understand that further investment dollars may be required for tooling and manufacturing their product if a buyer communicates interest in placing a purchase order
Invent2Retail is an accredited, certified sponsor of The United Inventors Association (UIA). The UIA is a non-profit organization dedicated to inventor education and support. Their mission is to provide reliable information as well as certification to groups and firms who agree to comply with rigorous professional and ethical standards.
For more information on the UIA please visit www.uiausa.org.
If you have a new idea or an improvement on an existing one, please visit Invent2retail.com and download i2R’s complimentary starter kit. This step-by-step guide will walk you through the process of taking your idea to market.