Local Inventor Makes Good

                             

Rochester NY is known for its high number of inventions. A new member of this group is Joe Polizzi (at far left).

His invention is a swing-out shelf which fits into any refrigerator. It provides easy access to items which normally are in the back and are hard to reach. Joe assembled a team to work with him.

                                                                                    

Standing next to Joe Is Mike Kane, a designer and stylist. Further to the right is Tracy Jong, a patent attorney who is equally proficient in contract negotiations. On the far right is Henry West a SCORE counselor affiliated with the Small Business Administration. His specialty is to guide inventors to bring their ideas to market. Polizzi’s shelf is being marketed on the QVC television channel and has received the best initial response of products sold to date.

Here is Joe’s story in his own words.

After 20 years as a consumer goods and pharmaceutical sales representative Joe Polizzi always sold other peoples products. However his dream was to someday invent and sell a product of his own creation, one that would solve a common problem and enhance the quality of people’s lives.

Joe’s invention came to him in his kitchen while trying to maneuver his way through layers of food is his refrigerator trying to find salsa that was finally discovered by his wife Jennifer, which was buried deep in the back behind leftovers that had become spoiled and eventually made their way into the trash can.

                                                    

“I began to think to myself, with all the advances that have taken place over the past 50 years with the modern refrigerator why hasn’t a better system been developed for accessing food. Only the front 1/3 of the shelf is truly accessible, while the remaining 2/3 is like playing ‘hide and seek’. Watching my wife empty out our fridge every couple weeks and throwing away lost and outdated food was like watching her throw away our hard earned money. I knew there had to be a better solution, which is when I came up with the idea for the ‘swing-out refrigerator tray’, which would allow all items stored in the back of the fridge to be instantly accessible.”

Joe then teamed up with his long-time friend Mike Kane, a talented industrial designer, who was able to bring this concept to life by producing a live working prototype. “Finally I had a working model of my idea, but what was the next step? Yes, I had years of sales experience but manufacturing and marketing a product was an area where I needed some help.”

It was at this point that Joe remembered his father had been given great business advice 10 years earlier when his dad met with a counselor from SCORE to starta silk screen andt-shirt embroidery business. “I contacted the local SCORE chapter in Rochester, NY and explained to them my business concept to see if they had someone with a business or engineering background to answer some questions I had.”

Within in a couple days he was contacted by SCORE counselor Henry West, a former engineer from Eastman Kodak, who had a wealth of knowledge to share. “Henry was able to offer me several insights regarding my product from both an engineering and business perspective and asked me to develop a solid business plan so I had a solid road map to follow.”

“I believe many inventors have the insight to create a unique product. However, many of these same individuals never take their product beyond the concept phase because unfortunately they do not have the knowledge or necessary steps to get beyond the idea phase. Meeting with Henry West provided me with the steps of what I needed to do to turn my vision into a reality.”

“One of the options we discussed was what was my optimal goal, manufacturing and distribution or licensing. Each would require me to take a different path. Regardless of which direction I went I still needed to protect my idea. Henry was able to recommend a local patent attorney, Tracy Jong, who enjoys working with independent inventors and entrepreneurs.” Tracy helped Joe obtain a provisional patent for the idea so it was legally protected while it was tested in the market for consumer feedback. After several prototype revisions, conducting consumer surveys and conducting focus groups Joe and Mike believed they had a recipe for a winning product based upon the favorable feedback they received.

“We felt that the licensing route would be the best option for us, so I decided to rent a display booth to show off our product at the 2009 International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago, IL where their product caught the attention of Primeway Company LTD, a large Canadian firm that represents established national brands, such as Sunbeam and helps brings new product lines to the marketplace.”

Since signing a licensing deal with Primeway in January of 2010, things have taken off quickly for the swing-out fridge tray, which is now being marketed under the brand name the ‘Fridge Tamer’. This past August 10 the Fridge Tamer made its debut on QVC where it was introduced by on-air personality Lori Greiner, where the entire 7,300 inventory completely and utterly ‘Sold-Out’within the first 5 minutes. This was followed up by a second appearance over the Thanksgiving weekend, which generated anadditional 30,000 units sold, thus becoming Primeway’s best selling product on QVC to date.

“I knew we had a product that consumers wanted, but this type of receptivity was more than I could have ever imagined.””

Following QVC’s huge success there is going to be a lot of exciting things happening in the upcoming year, when the Fridge Tamer will be supported by a national DRTV infomercial ad campaign which be hitting the U.S. airwaves in early 2011. A 60 second infomercial has already begun testing in Canada stating this past December 2010, and early sales results have shown it to be a blockbuster in the making.

                                                                 

Joe adds, “SCORE provided me with the road map to take my invention to the next level. Yes, there are books and on-line articles out there on how to start a business or develop a product. However, being able to sit down and talk face-to-face with someone who can provide advice from their real-world experience and is there to offer support and encouragement is something you can’t put a price on. I really owe SCORE a debt of gratitude for helping me bring my idea and dream into a reality.””

 

 

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