FROM AN IDEA TO THE LAUNCH OF OUR NEW PRODUCT
If you've followed our brand to this point you are likely aware that we sell one product which is our Reusable Insulated Lunch Sack. You can find an image of our bags below as well as right here on our Amazon product detail page.
Having one product in your portfolio doesn't necessarily make a company a brand so we were always thinking about what our next product would be. With our success in the lunch bag space we could have proceeded with expanding our assortment there with some accessories that fit within the lunch category. That probably would have been the easiest product expansion for us but we felt the need to diversify our business so opted to go a completely different direction on this one.
In mid-March all of our lives changed with Covid-19. Our daily routines were interrupted as we went into a mandatory shelter by the end of the month out here in California. The shelter meant that you were only supposed to leave your residence to go get groceries or to go to work if your job was deemed essential. The unemployment rate skyrocketed with all of us feeling uncertainty if we would still be able to keep our 9-5 jobs and support our families. It was very unsettling. Turning on the news you would see the grim realities in front of you as cases rose everywhere in the world. Our day jobs luckily weren't affected as we all moved to WFH status. Outside of work hours, we were forced to spend our free time indoors with Covid-19 lurking outside. While some go to Netflix, social media, and substance abuse to kill time, we started scheduling zoom calls with to push each other creatively.
We felt the pandemic life was becoming the new norm as there still wasn't a vaccine in sight. China's population had worn masks over their nose and mouth for years to protect themselves from getting sick and spreading germs. A mask is now a mandatory accessory for us in this pandemic and I believe people will still wear masks when things do finally go back to normal. Every state has different mandates but most of us here in the United States must wear a mask when in public spaces. We all had basic blue masks to wear but in March and April there were zero cool looking masks available online. With face masks becoming a new reality in our lives, our brand came up with a plan to source and produce cool looking face masks in early April. We sent our designs to our sourcing agent and really got behind the idea of fashionable face masks.
As time passed, we started to see more and more masks come to market from brands that we loved. WIth this being the case, we hit the brakes on our face mask idea. But we were still hungry to create a new product for our brand. We had creative energy flowing between us so we kept the momentum going and went back to the drawing board. What other products could we manufacture that customers could find value in? We racked our brains for weeks and sent hundreds of messages and emails with zoom calls in between to talk through ideas. And then in late April, we landed on our next idea. We didn't even have a name for this new product but we all agreed on the direction for the item. We sketched up some designs and sent them over to our factory on April 28th. The next couple of days were filled with fire drill discussions on what could and couldn't be done on this new product. The big idea for us was a mini hand sanitizer bag with a carabiner that could easily clip to a belt loop, backpack or bag. We also aspired to include an empty 2oz bottle that customers could fill with liquids and lotions.
On April 30th, our first sample had been produced and we received pictures of it. We were so excited but our job wasn't even close to being done yet! The sample didn't look great so we had to work with our factory to quickly make aesthetic changes to the mini bag. After roughly a week of emails flying back and forth, we finally received pictures of samples that looked really good.
On May 10th, our first samples were shipped to us here in Cali so that our team could review and get an actual feel for them. Once in hand, we knew we were super close to a final product! We provided our factory with the final feedback and they assured us that they could make the necessary fixes. We were ecstatic! On May 18th, we submitted our first bulk order to our factory for this new item! This can be a very scary process because you are committing thousands of dollars to a brand new product that has zero sales history. This is what you call blind faith! We didn't even have a name for the item but the product was ready and we were ready to try to start selling it.
Our factory went to production on May 19th and on June 5th, our new product was produced in full and all shipped to us via air shipment. A few days later our boxes landed and were quickly stacked to the ceiling in a small 2 bedroom apartment awaiting next steps. Now the hustle really started.
We didn't have any photography so we had to hit up our friend to see if he could squeeze us in. We created a shot list for him and sent him the samples ASAP. Within a couple of days we had our studio shots. We added those images along with all of our copy for our Amazon listings. With our detail pages now built, we labeled and sent all of our inventory to Amazon while we counted the days until our product was physically received at their fulfillment centers. On June 26th, the second product from our brand was available for purchase on Amazon. We still didn't have a real name for the product and to this day we still don't! Big brands with lots of financial backing would scoff at such a things but we're honestly just our here hustling figuring things out one day at a time. It can be very stressful at times but also so rewarding!
We took a product idea from sketches on a paper napkin to an actual order to our factory in only a couple of weeks. Then our bulk order was manufactured, air shipped to one of our small apartments in several huge boxes, and finally sent to Amazon's warehouses where it was eventually made available for purchase on their marketplace. If you are in consumer product space and work for a large established company, you likely take 6 - 18 months to launch a product. But for our team of 3 working on this brand as a side hustle, we turned an idea to a product on Amazon in less than 2 months!! That is something that we are so proud of collectively but there is no time or reason to celebrate. We are back on our grind because this is only the beginning.
We dedicate early mornings, late nights, and weekends to try to turn this small business into an entity that can help us fulfill our dreams and support our families for years. So today we are proud to announce that our second product is finally ready for purchase. We put everything into this product and we hope you find value in it. We feel you guys are going to love it! Our new pandemic reality requires washing your hands constantly so we went out and made the freshest mini hand sanitizer holder out in the market. Available now right here on Amazon!
We are the brand called 2nd Childhood and we're still out here trying to break bread daily. Thank you for supporting our movement!
