What It's About
Two brothers set traditional throat lozenges ablaze.
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
You can go into your local supermarket right now and buy a bag of 120 store brand cough drops for $1.99. By contrast, a bag of 20 Fire Drops costs anywhere from $3.99 - 4.99. They knew they had to target health-conscious, organic consumers who were willing to pay a few bucks extra for an effective product and natural alternative. And since the best way to target those people was by going to events where they knew they'd be in attendance, they hit the farmer's markets, organic food stores, and small locally owned businesses.
If marketing your product is proving challenging, figure out who your ideal customer is and go where they are!
Fun Fact
You normally think in terms of tablespoons and cups when you measure ingredients in the kitchen, but you’ve got to think bigger in business. Brett realized that instead of measuring his ingredients with kitchen utensils, he had to start weighing them if he wanted any manufacturer to produce Fire Drops.
Notes from Chris
Episode 901
Massachusettes native, Brett Johnson, is a huge fan of natural remedies. During the winter months, he would find himself consuming endless amounts of cough drops that were packed with medicine and various additives, all of which he thought was not the healthiest to consume. Unfortunately, there were few alternatives out there, and throat lozenges were simply a necessity when the New England cold arrived. This all changed one day at work. Working at a design studio, Brett expected just another normal day when a woman entered the studio with a request for help with packaging a natural throat lozenge. But as work continued with the product, she felt that it was too time-consuming and decided to focus on other opportunities. She was moving on … but Brett thought the idea had vast potential. He was able to convince her to sell the product and business to him. This marked the beginning of Fire Drops. The original inventor had devised a formula for the lozenges and had prepared an initial batch, but there was still a lot to be desired. Brett enlisted the help of his brother Scott, and the two of them immediately began experimenting with flavors. Their first step was to look up every other lozenge on the market to see the ingredients that were being used. This gave them a sense of what options were out there, as well as a direction in which they could take in order to differentiate their product. Their next step was time-consuming: Brett spent months in the kitchen trying different combinations and taking detailed notes on every aspect of the process. With factors such as ingredient proportions and cooking temperature to account for, it took several iterations for a viable product to emerge from the kitchen. The first ten batches tasted like popcorn, and it would take countless more tries before it started tasting like candy. After sufficient tinkering, the brothers managed to come up with a product that not only tasted great but was effective against cold and flu symptoms. With everything said and done, Brett and Scott figure that they’ve invested around $15,000 in startup capital. The money mainly went towards packaging and building up inventory. Today, Fire Drops nets around $20,000 in revenue each year, with sales slowing down in the summer months. The best part of this experience has been the opportunity for the brothers to work together and earn a real-world MBA. All of the marketing, product development, manufacturing and e-commerce skills they had to learn on the fly will be helpful in whatever project they take on next. They’re also not resting on their throat lozenge laurels. The two brothers have approached independently owned organic stores and are now stocked in over one-hundred of them. They also realize that even though they’ve done well bootstrapping the business, they’re open to investment to help get to the next level. But for now, Brett and Scott are willing to do the things that don’t scale—an attitude that makes any bumps in the business easier to swallow.MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Fire Drops: Learn more about this hot side hustle over on Brett and Scott's website!
- Military-Themed Teddy Bears Help Kids Hibernate: An ad executive turned teddy bear manufacturer creates a military-grade sleep system for children, earning $100,000 in sales and making a lot of people beary happy
SEE ALSO:
- Athletes Create “Chewable Energy” Gum: Searching for energy on-the-go without a nasty crash or sugar rush, these two friends and high-performing athletes chew on the idea until inspiration strikes
- On-the-Go Mouthwash Gets Mini-Makeover: Two Florida State grads create a mini-mouthwash empire, selling 3,500 bottles in less than a year
- Sweet-Toothed Dentist Creates Sugar-Free Caramel Company: A pediatric dentist joins forces with her husband to sell sugar-free caramels. Starting from a goal of selling 100 bags at a local market, they go on to earn $100,000 in 2017
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Resources
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