Advice Please

Bandara

Hi all,

Bit of a silly one I suppose but I've no idea where to approach this one from.

I have an idea for a product that I think would be very well received and sucessful in the market. The issue is I am basically looking to develop a product that would be a new departure for an existing huge international company, using their current product and deveoping it further into a new range that they dont currently do.

As a silly example to give you a outline as to the issue: imagine I intend to make a Cadbury Chocolate curry sauce, and imagien that there is a very strong space in the market for such a product but no one has doen it before.

How do I go about approaching Cadbury and telling them that I'd like to suggest this product to them, that I want to have the distribution rights to it and either they (which I'd imagine they would want to do) or I can arrange manufacture of it. The product I have in mind would really need a strong brand behind it to get instant exposure/have the weight to get into the relevant sales channels etc.

Will Cadbury etc just ignore me, will they nick the idea, will they be in any way shape or form open to any joint (loaded in their favour obviously) venture? I'd be coming to them with no previous experience of this kind of thing.

Any opinions really appreicated, this is not an area I have a clue about, regarding the product it is something that they could easily align with and it would fit in with their core offering.

Thank you
HT

luketitz

Hi hammertime, sounds intriguing! I'd be of the opinion you'd be rejected and your idea nicked and adopted in-house by said large corporation if a decent idea.

Best bet is to get a solid business plan together (is the item patentable? If so, get one) and then consider approaching the firm to see how they react to your notion of doing a licensing agreement with you if the idea was right, keeping your cards close to your chest, of course.

If you get a good vibe, go for it - nothing ventured, nothing gained - best of luck and keep us posted!

Its a difficult situation because it sounds like your product doesn't have any intellectual property and would be difficult to protect.

If you can afford to develop the product yourself and get a brand designed you should. Then bring it to the local supermarket store managers and ask them to trial it in their store - they only pay you if it sells. If its in a decent position in the store and has a good promotion on its likely to sell and then you will at least be armed with some sales data. At that point you either take it on yourself or get an investor on board for proper inventory and marketing or try to license it to 'cadburys'.

The reality is they dont have to pay you or give you distribution rights for it unless you were already in the business of manufacturing it, and they would already have distribution sorted out already so they dont need you there. At this point its just an idea so I don't see them giving you anything for it then perhaps a token gesture.

Bandara

Thanks guys

It's not really a runner so !

Ferrplaytiyu

ah sure ye may aswell put us all out of our misery so, come on whats the big idea ?

gremha

Hammertime wrote: »

Thanks guys

It's not really a runner so !

Not necessarily. Don't publish details of it. Anyone you speak to get them to sign an NDA with an exclusion (say 2 years) clause first.

If it's a non perishable item you're looking at re-purposing, there may be a market for this & you don't necessarily need their permission to go ahead with it., you're essentially taking their product & changing it's purpose - e.g. Take a pair of Tommy Hilfiger Socks, embroider the front of them with the word "iWear" & market them at iPhone users, you've now repurposed.

If you're using an ingredient to make another (Cadbury/Philadelphia being an example) - shouldn't work but does & brings the product into a new area of cake decoration, thereby pushing sales, then you probably need their permission, they're going to be extremely protective of their brand & product & you may be lucky to get a 5% royalty (which could still stack up) for perfecting the new product. this is brand extension & it's relatively easy to do, so unlikely they'd pay anyone for it.

Chocolate curry sauce does sound like an interesting concept though...

Best of luck.