Take a problem, how to conveniently dry baby bottles, add design brilliance, and come up with an ABS plastic device plus skillful marketing. That’s what skiphop.com did. Result: last year 50,000 Splash bottle dryers were sold @ $28.00 a pop. Hank
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About About
Hank [BS/MSEE,
MSM $$$, Ph.D. Mgmt] teaches Entrepreneurship
&
Innovation and Marketing
@ Purdue University, W. Lafayette, Indiana USA.
His interests include students, anything involving technology, Social
Marketing,
brain-computer interfaces, and boomers as
entrepreneurs. He is also coordinator of Purdue's Certificate
in Entrepreneurship Program. Hank can be
reached 24/7 here: hank -at-entr200-dot-com.
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Skiphop came up with a neat and simple design. I checked out the site and they had a few other items that were also really simple but very benifecial to someone who has a baby. Skiphop did a great job taking a great design and making it marketable to parents and they were rewarded by making a nice little chunk of change last year.
what!? $28!!!
what about the things in the sink that hold dishes and cups. That’s what we use. I thought they were a household standard!
When I first saw this I was like, “oh, neat, it blow dries them with some sort of leaf-blower mechanism”
but it just air dries them?
I should have thought of this
I agree with Luke. Skiphop has a very appealing design that shows the companies true abilities as innovators. However, I must say that at $28 a pop, it seems a little pricey. Maybe by marketing around $20 dollars they could of sold 100,000 plus.
People are drawn to visually appealing products and Skiphop took advantage of this to design a product targeted towards parents of babies. Many parents are willing to spend large amounts of money on their children and this goes to prove that a simple household accessory if designed appealingly will fly off the shelves.
First off, I’m completely surprised that this product is only $28. Secondly, this is a great idea for mothers of young children. Babies go through bottles like crazy, and it’s cool that moms don’t have to wait for bottles to cool off after being in the dish washer, or trying to dry these bottles with a towel. Parents of young children are always looking for ways to make everyday child care easier. This company hit the nail on the head.
I would not by any of their products, because they are so simple that I could make them myself. Why spend so much money on something so simple?
Scott’s right…$28 is quite a bit of money especially for something like this then I’d rather just wash them by hand.
Well 28 dollars might be expensive if you are just washing ONE bottle. But if you happen to have more than one bottle, then it might save you a lot of time, so 28 dollars might be cheap. It depends on who the user is.
28 dollars is wayyy too expensive for something like this. I would rather just use a normal drying rack that would probably be like 5 dollars. plus it could dry your dishes and your bottles.
…I never knew drying baby bottles was such an issue… Cool product I guess.
Great idea, but as the posts above allude to this is just not too affordable (for what you’re getting). Although it is expensive, you could register for it and maybe someone would buy it as a baby shower present!
This does seem expensive to us, but really, the benefits outweigh the cost for most people. And yes, you could easily make one, but most people take the convenience over the slightly expensive price.
I agree with scott, I thought for twenty eight dollars there would be some kind of space age technology drying these bottles, what’s the difference between this product and a bent up coat hanger?
But I guess what they are doing is working, 50,000 products in 1 year? that’s pretty impressive. Plus it looks like this product would make a pretty good baby shower gift.
First you can wash them by hand, second you can let them sit out and dry, third many people have dishwashers that already dry their dishes. I can’t justify spending $28.00 on something to dry a baby bottle but I guess 50,000 can?!?!
Actually it has been an issue that makes me nervous whenever handling baby bottles. recently we’ve had quite a few additions to my family and I hate seeing bottles carelessly tossed on the counter or in a cabinet. This would definitely help to fix that problem making it easier handle them after being washed.
Even after they are dried by the dishwater often times they will still have water left inside of them and you dont want to put the rims on the counter to this is an easy way to keep them clean dry and easily accesible.
I never knew this was an issue either, but someone’s laughing all the way to the bank.
That’s good for this company. I didn’t think something like this would be a big deal. Just dry it yourself! I don’t get it?! And $28? I’ll spend that somewhere else, I guess i’m lucky to say I don’t have a baby for there are other smarter ways to spend your money. Good marketing by the company though.
This sounds like a pretty decent idea. It’s not totally necessary just because it has a limited application of only drying bottles unlike your conventional drying rack but for a mother who has the extra money and space this thing is pretty sweet.
I think $28 is a lil steep for something that is just a plastic drying rack. I do like the idea but when I first saw it I figured, like Scott, that it would have some sort or drying mechanism that helped to dry them quickly and without watermarks or something. I did not expect it to just be an air-drying contraption. I like the idea but think they should think about selling in the $15-20 range.
Itzz really expensive but the idea is innovative. If they could have provided this with a little price tag, they could have made huge success. But $28 buks for this? It really doesn’t make sense to me…
I would disagree with some to say that I do not think the Splash Bottle Drying Rack is too expensive. This is a very innovative idea that any mom and dad would use because of its ease of use. This could be a great baby shower gift that any mom would appreciate. The only thing I would have an issue with is the storage of the drying apparatus.
nothing quite like this… shows there is always something better to do out there
I’ve definitely never seen anything like this. Very innovative.
It’s crazy how anything can make $$$! It’s all about how creative people are. That’s always the key to what, and who is successful.
Priced just right for a baby gift… {Good observation. Dad}
This product had almost 1.5million dollars in sales last year. If they had made this product more expensive, they could have made upwards of 2 million.
Why can this product have been more expensive? A mother can fit 9 bottles onto this thing. The average american household has 2 or more children; that’s less than 14 dollars per baby. As a father, I would gladly pay 25 dollars per baby for this innovative product.
Excellent innovation, mediocre sales and marketing.
People are just lazy, which explains why they throw them out, which allows companies to make a ridiculous amount of money on replacements. This is just another example of how Americans waste money on useless things such as dry baby bottles.
Great idea, could be a little expensive, but it’s definately something that would be handy to have if you have a baby. It seems a lot more sanitary than just putting them in a regular drying rack in your sink. My mom works at a pediatric office so I understand how easily babies can get sick. They don’t have good immune systems. So having a drying system for their bottles only, rather than just throwing them in the sink with everything else, where they could pick up nastiness, is definately a great way to try to keep your child healthy.
Wow, this is a great idea. I do not have kids, but I have a lot of nephews, and this is a common problem. My sister is a huge sanitary freak, and this will be a perfect baby gift for her. It is a little bit expensive, but I think it is worth the price! (If you only knew my sister) lol
Well, in my opinion, it’s not very visually appealing. It might as well be a Star Wars prop in my kitchen.
Furthermore, I’m worried about the safety. It looks like it could poke my baby or a visiting one’s eye out.
I could get sued!
A simple product that makes everyday life a little easier or in this case a little safer for babies. Looks like a good design i would probably invest.
What ever happend to laying down a dry rag and letting them dry.. the last time I checked, kitchen rags cost like a dollar a piece.. I think that a much better investment! But I guess i’m also not a mother.. ill worry about that when I have to!
Human creativity knows no bounds.
This product is very cool. I realize that baby accessories are very expensive, and this is in the range of the prices. However, the baby dishes can also be dried in a dish washer or on a towel on a flat surface. So i wouldn’t bye this product because there are other free alternatives that work just as good.
The mind can take you anywhere