Cathy Dobson
A lot of people have good ideas for new products but they never get to market, says 24-year-old Jordon Sansom.
“It takes a lot of convincing. I had to convince my company that fruit infusion bottles would be the next big thing.”
Sansom, who grew up in Camlachie and graduated from Northern Collegiate, launched his new “fruition fun with water” bottle two weeks ago.
The first order of 20,000 was manufactured in China and distributed to smaller retailers in Canada, including Sarnia’s Kitchen Widgets on Mitton Street.
Kitchen Widgets was one of the first to carry the infusion bottles because the store provided input to Sansom when the product was being developed.
In January, Sansom’s fruit infusion bottles will have mass distribution through Loblaw, London Drugs and Marks Work Wearhouse in Canada. Discussions are ongoing with a U.S. retailer.
For a guy who has shown a flare for entrepreneurship since his pre-teens, launching a new product is exciting stuff, said Sansom.
After graduating from the University of Ottawa with a commerce degree, Sansom began working in marketing for a brand management company called Thermor Limited in Newmarket.
About two years ago he came up with a concept for a water bottle with a basket at the bottom that can be filled with fresh fruit. When the fruit is squeezed, the juices infuse the water for a fresh, healthy beverage.
“There are a lot of trends coming together to create this market,” said Sansom from his Newmarket office. “People are more health conscious and they are more ecofriendly.”
Sansom recognized that the pre-packaged flavoured waters are often sweetened artificially, something that’s increasingly controversial.
“We’re also seeing a shift from those mass market products to something people can participate in. They like to make their own drinks and control what’s in them.”
Sansom convinced Thermor to allow him to work with a team of professional industrial designers. The company invested about $100,000 to develop the infusion bottle and begin manufacturing overseas.
Sansom came up with the idea, assisted the researchers, named the product and travelled to China with the development team.
“Our idea shines because the flavour is extracted in minutes when you squeeze the juices out of the fruit,” he said. “A lot of thought went into it.
“I was also very fortunate that I was with Thermor when I came up with the idea.”
Kitchen Widgets is selling fruition fun with water bottles for $24.99 each. Gelinas said there’s already been a lot of interest.
For more information, visit fruitionbottle.com.
JUST PLAIN RENOVATIONS
Sarnia’s Joshua Plain has started his own renovations company with a four-man crew.
Just Plain Renovations has experienced workers in roofing, siding and soffits, says Plain.
He offers free estimates and a guarantee to beat any prior estimates by at least 10%.
Contact Plain at [email protected] or call 226-886-1413.
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Got an interesting business story? Contact Cathy Dobson at [email protected] or 226-932-0985.