Penguin Brand FreshTwist Shoe Deodorizer

Stinky shoes, lockers and gym bags are a reality for teens and their parents. We found that teens either weren't bothered by or were embarrassed to disclose the problem. So our new product development team needed to create a product that was cool enough for teens to buy and still attract parents' attention when the kids were indifferent. But stinky shoes or not, our methodology is the same for new product development process commercial, new product development process consumer, etc.

Imagine
The new product development team took a social science approach to the process for consumers with the understanding that control was the issue for teen consumers. We wanted to give them the ability to discretely tackle the problem with a new consumer product that was small, attractive and easy to use. The resulting twist action also creates an interactive process with the device that is fun to use.

Implement
The primary trick our design engineers use to implement such a small and low cost consumer product was to make the experience feel more valuable through effective use of materials and interactions. The twist action had to be smooth and the parts needed to feel precise. We used Pro/E to design the parts and specified overmolding to damp the twist action and improve the feel of the outer shell. We also were careful to communicate effectively between our client in Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania and their molder in China.

Impact
Initial interest in the new product by retailers has been so strong that Penguin had a production backlog shortly after introduction. Sales are currently tracking better than plan and the new product has helped Penguin secure more prominent positioning at point of sale. Our main focus in the new product development for the consumer was to provide an innovative product and so far it has been a major success.