Joe Marshall is a tool maker and inventor who has found a way to turn a failed idea into a hot flea market and swap meet product. “My company makes woodworking tools, and I was trying to create a glue injector,” Marshall says. “Well, it didn’t work at all for that, but I had all these prototypes. We had a bunch of friends over for a barbecue party. After about five beers each, we started playing with the prototypes. We injected vodka into watermelons, rum into pineapples, hot fudge into cupcakes. It turned this product from a horrible glue injector into a real cool Flavor Injector.”
Marshall, the owner of Home Tech Products, submitted his invention to the Telebrands Inventors Day Contest, and out of 1,500 inventions submitted, the flavor injector won first place earlier this year. “It is just now going on the market,” he says. “It’s brand-spanking new. We just launched the Web site.” And he believes the product is a natural for flea markets and swap meets.
In test marketing, the product was well received. Marshall recently sold 400 units at a home and garden show. “I’m not happy making five grand a weekend, but a lot of people are,” he says. The product lends itself easily to a demo-style sell, he says. “I give the description and show pictures of the cupcakes breaking open with the hot fudge.” His two minute pitch includes examples, video, cleaning tips, and ideas. “People get excited. They start talking about what they can do with it.”
The pricing offers attractive profits. “We’re going to sell these for $9 each wholesale, in cases of 40,” says Marshall, and that includes a countertop display and a DVD. The suggested retail price ranges from $19.99 to $29.95. “We’re in the ballpark to offer a nice flea market gadget with a good margin,” he adds.
For wholesale information, check out the Home Tech Flavor Injector Web site or call Home Tech Products at (800) 365-7305.
