New Golden Age for Inventors:  More Companies Want Your INVENTIONS!

Forget the old corporate philosophy of  NOT INVENTED HERE. Companies increasingly are hunting for new products, ideas and technologies from outside their own R-and-D shops. Welcome to the New Golden Age for Inventors!

When Xerox Corp. searched for a new type of roller for its line of color printers, it turned to the Internet and the wisdom of inventors.  Confronted with global competition and a need for a continual pipeline of new product ideas, some of the world’s biggest companies such as Kraft, Procter & Gamble and General Mills increasingly are using the global reach of the Web to look outside their own walls. This is great news for inventor-entrepreneurs. Working with large companies can increase exposure, dramatically boost distribution and, of course, pad wallets.  Jeff, a contributing editor for Wired magazine says, “Because of the nature of the markets, to show perpetual growth the need for innovation constantly grows,” he says.  “This drives a great hunger for innovation, and we’re starting to see that the appetite can’t be satisfied with inside expertise.

Kraft last year refreshed it’s website to attract potential innovation partners to help the company create new product platforms and improve existing products and brands.

Kraft has acquired three new outside innovative ideas:

#1 Kraft Bagel-fuls are tube bagels stuffed with Philadelphia brand cream cheese.

#2 All-out-squeeze containers for Kraft Mayo and Miracle Whip. A supplier provided a new type of container coating that allows consumers to get more product from plastic bottles and reduce waste.

#3 Snack-n-seal resealable packaging for brands such as Oreo and Chips Ahoy! cookies.

Kraft’s vice president of open innovation and investments research, says its outside searches complement rather than replace its own internal research and development.  “Open innovation is not about outsourcing or marginalizing our internal R-and-D,” he says. “It’s reinforcing our ‘proudly found elsewhere’ philosophy.”

This ethos marks a 180-degree turn from the historic “not invented here” perspective in corporate America!!!

If you have a new product idea, now is the time!!!! Visit us at New Product Consulting for more information or sign up for a Free Consultation.