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Waterproof Paperweights

May 24, 2022
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    Sowing Certainty, Reaping Risk: The High Stakes of Seed Integrity and Genetic Purity

    Sowing Certainty, Reaping Risk: The High Stakes of Seed Integrity and Genetic Purity

    The Economics of Enchantment: Designing High-Value Agritourism Pumpkin Events

    The Economics of Enchantment: Designing High-Value Agritourism Pumpkin Events

    Cultivating Partnerships: How Agritourism and ESG Strategy Can Build New Markets for Farmers

    Cultivating Partnerships: How Agritourism and ESG Strategy Can Build New Markets for Farmers

    Strategic Subsidy to Value-Added: A Blueprint for Stabilizing Specialty Crop Income

    Strategic Subsidy to Value-Added: A Blueprint for Stabilizing Specialty Crop Income

    The Double Blow: Analyzing the Systemic Risks Behind a Pumpkin Crop Collapse

    The Double Blow: Analyzing the Systemic Risks Behind a Pumpkin Crop Collapse

    The High-Value Pumpkin: Cultivating Profit Through Variety, Agritourism, and Soil Management

    The High-Value Pumpkin: Cultivating Profit Through Variety, Agritourism, and Soil Management

    From Research Plot to Public Event: The Supply Chain of a Specialty Crop

    From Research Plot to Public Event: The Supply Chain of a Specialty Crop

    Cultivating Excellence: What Makes a Pumpkin Patch the “Best in the Nation”?

    Cultivating Excellence: What Makes a Pumpkin Patch the “Best in the Nation”?

    Beyond the Pie: What Google Trends Data Reveals About Evolving Pumpkin Markets

    Beyond the Pie: What Google Trends Data Reveals About Evolving Pumpkin Markets

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    Sowing Certainty, Reaping Risk: The High Stakes of Seed Integrity and Genetic Purity

    Sowing Certainty, Reaping Risk: The High Stakes of Seed Integrity and Genetic Purity

    The Double Blow: Analyzing the Systemic Risks Behind a Pumpkin Crop Collapse

    The Double Blow: Analyzing the Systemic Risks Behind a Pumpkin Crop Collapse

    The Water Spinach Specialist: A Blueprint for High-Value Specialty Crops and Cooperative Success

    The Water Spinach Specialist: A Blueprint for High-Value Specialty Crops and Cooperative Success

    Weathering the Storm: How Vietnamese Farmers and Traders Collaborate to Stabilize the Greens Market

    Weathering the Storm: How Vietnamese Farmers and Traders Collaborate to Stabilize the Greens Market

    Stavropol’s Borscht Belt: High-Yield Vegetable Harvest Reaches One-Third Completion

    Stavropol’s Borscht Belt: High-Yield Vegetable Harvest Reaches One-Third Completion

    Yakutia Defies the Odds: Harvest Data Reveals a Surge in Arctic Agriculture

    Yakutia Defies the Odds: Harvest Data Reveals a Surge in Arctic Agriculture

    Beyond the Subsidy: Unlocking True Productivity Gains in Ugandan Agriculture

    Beyond the Subsidy: Unlocking True Productivity Gains in Ugandan Agriculture

    A Double-Edged Sword: Soaring Chinese Cabbage Imports into Zabaykalsky Bring Heightened Biosecurity Risks

    A Double-Edged Sword: Soaring Chinese Cabbage Imports into Zabaykalsky Bring Heightened Biosecurity Risks

    Beyond the Field: How Cooperative-Led Education is Revolutionizing Garlic and Onion Production

    Beyond the Field: How Cooperative-Led Education is Revolutionizing Garlic and Onion Production

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  • NEWS
    Sowing Certainty, Reaping Risk: The High Stakes of Seed Integrity and Genetic Purity

    Sowing Certainty, Reaping Risk: The High Stakes of Seed Integrity and Genetic Purity

    The Economics of Enchantment: Designing High-Value Agritourism Pumpkin Events

    The Economics of Enchantment: Designing High-Value Agritourism Pumpkin Events

    Cultivating Partnerships: How Agritourism and ESG Strategy Can Build New Markets for Farmers

    Cultivating Partnerships: How Agritourism and ESG Strategy Can Build New Markets for Farmers

    Strategic Subsidy to Value-Added: A Blueprint for Stabilizing Specialty Crop Income

    Strategic Subsidy to Value-Added: A Blueprint for Stabilizing Specialty Crop Income

    The Double Blow: Analyzing the Systemic Risks Behind a Pumpkin Crop Collapse

    The Double Blow: Analyzing the Systemic Risks Behind a Pumpkin Crop Collapse

    The High-Value Pumpkin: Cultivating Profit Through Variety, Agritourism, and Soil Management

    The High-Value Pumpkin: Cultivating Profit Through Variety, Agritourism, and Soil Management

    From Research Plot to Public Event: The Supply Chain of a Specialty Crop

    From Research Plot to Public Event: The Supply Chain of a Specialty Crop

    Cultivating Excellence: What Makes a Pumpkin Patch the “Best in the Nation”?

    Cultivating Excellence: What Makes a Pumpkin Patch the “Best in the Nation”?

    Beyond the Pie: What Google Trends Data Reveals About Evolving Pumpkin Markets

    Beyond the Pie: What Google Trends Data Reveals About Evolving Pumpkin Markets

  • AGROTECHNOLOGY
    • All
    • Climate
    • Crop protection
    • digital (smart)
    • dron
    • Fertilizer
    • Research
    • weed
    Sowing Certainty, Reaping Risk: The High Stakes of Seed Integrity and Genetic Purity

    Sowing Certainty, Reaping Risk: The High Stakes of Seed Integrity and Genetic Purity

    The Double Blow: Analyzing the Systemic Risks Behind a Pumpkin Crop Collapse

    The Double Blow: Analyzing the Systemic Risks Behind a Pumpkin Crop Collapse

    The Water Spinach Specialist: A Blueprint for High-Value Specialty Crops and Cooperative Success

    The Water Spinach Specialist: A Blueprint for High-Value Specialty Crops and Cooperative Success

    Weathering the Storm: How Vietnamese Farmers and Traders Collaborate to Stabilize the Greens Market

    Weathering the Storm: How Vietnamese Farmers and Traders Collaborate to Stabilize the Greens Market

    Stavropol’s Borscht Belt: High-Yield Vegetable Harvest Reaches One-Third Completion

    Stavropol’s Borscht Belt: High-Yield Vegetable Harvest Reaches One-Third Completion

    Yakutia Defies the Odds: Harvest Data Reveals a Surge in Arctic Agriculture

    Yakutia Defies the Odds: Harvest Data Reveals a Surge in Arctic Agriculture

    Beyond the Subsidy: Unlocking True Productivity Gains in Ugandan Agriculture

    Beyond the Subsidy: Unlocking True Productivity Gains in Ugandan Agriculture

    A Double-Edged Sword: Soaring Chinese Cabbage Imports into Zabaykalsky Bring Heightened Biosecurity Risks

    A Double-Edged Sword: Soaring Chinese Cabbage Imports into Zabaykalsky Bring Heightened Biosecurity Risks

    Beyond the Field: How Cooperative-Led Education is Revolutionizing Garlic and Onion Production

    Beyond the Field: How Cooperative-Led Education is Revolutionizing Garlic and Onion Production

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Home Processing

Waterproof Paperweights

by Tatyana Ivanovich
May 24, 2022
in Processing
0

What are waterproof paperweights, and what do they have in common with fresh-cut product development?

Allow me to explain. I was recently helping my great-aunt (88 years old) with a garage sale. A younger cousin and I were doing the transactions for her when we came across a box with black flexible plastic squares with sand heat-sealed in them to add weight to ankle and wrist bracelets when power-walking. However, the bracelets were missing. My cousin told me to just throw them away. I told her I could sell them. She bet me a dollar I couldn’t. Being the creative product developer that I am, I couldn’t resist a challenge, so I took her bet.

As I surveyed the tables in my aunt’s garage sale, I noticed some rolled up posters. I placed a couple of black plastic squares on a poster print and noticed that they held the poster flat for better viewing.

After that quick exercise, I returned to my cousin and told her I would sell them as a set. With that, I stacked them in a little pyramid and labeled them waterproof paper weights, with a price of 10 cents on the sticker.

Shortly after, a woman shopping at my aunt’s sale asked me: What are waterproof paperweights? Without hesitation, I said they hold down posters and prints. I pulled one of the poster prints from the table and showed her the waterproof paperweights in use. She said she would take them.

I took a waste product and made it into something salable, much to the amazement of my family and friends witnessing the transaction.

Not only did I provide a lady a helping hand in holding down her rolled-up prints at home, I earned 10 cents for my aunt, and I was a dollar ahead from the wager with my younger cousin.

In my profession, fresh-cut processors constantly ask me about what’s new.

What can they start adding to their product offerings to give them an edge or a profitable niche? Some will mention a new product idea that excites customers or will reference a competitor’s product they read about in an industry publication.

I generally respond to their queries with a question: Has the method of product development by customer request or copying your competition proven to be profitable for your company in the past?

There are many things to consider between your customer’s inspiration and your plant executing a new product idea, not the least of which might be the need to purchase additional processing equipment. By the time you are ready with the new product, it has faded from your customer’s memory or is no longer viable. The struggles associated with copying competitors that are revealing new items also are problematic. By the time you read about it, they already are securing the leadership role in that new product category.

Try to envision showing a new product idea to a customer and being able to deliver it in a timely fashion at a profit, because you did your homework, your research, and completed all the time-consuming tasks before introducing it.

Effective product development is as simple as my aunt’s garage sale. Take a good look at your inventory, your production line. What could you add or change to create a new product without major strain and still maintain a profitable margin? How could you position that product in the marketplace to gain attention?

As in the case of my aunt’s sale, pick a trade name that begs the question: What is it?

Since you cannot be present to answer the question, be sure to have a descriptive line. Instantly communicate to your foodservice or retail customer the “value” in your value-added product via your product’s packaging. Not only what it is, but its “use.” If you do this, you will be more effective with your product launches in the future.

These simple methods will help your fresh-cut offerings be more profitable in the future, because you are tailoring your new product to what your plant can effectively produce while still maintaining a profit.

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