Boutique, flavored waters for pampered dogs and cats. I knew it was fundamentally absurd, but I also suspected that there were enough indulgent pet owners out there to make it a viable product. I also thought there was a possibly legitimate veterinary rationale for such a thing – that flavored water could encourage older pets to stay hydrated, which is important to their health overall and helps prevent urinary tract blockages, infections, and formation of stones.
There remained a few small obstacles standing in the way: my complete ignorance of things like chemistry and food engineering (presumably these flavors would be cooked up via inorganic esters, right?) and veterinary medicine, and my utter lack of institutional ties and business know-how and experience.
Back in the early 80’s when I was living on a semi-rural allotment with free-range kids and chooks and growing organic vegies and herbs, I decided to concoct my own herbal remedies…like calendula and comfrey ointments etc. I used all totally natural ingredients and the end product looked, smelled and worked well.
Having a glut one time, I took my excess (in fancy jars) to a local village market where they were snapped up quickly. One lady, who ran a sports medicine clinic, asked me to supply her with 60 jars per week (of all the varieties) for the next two years. :eek:
That could have been the beginnings of something good, but instead, I got cold feet and chickened out of the deal, worrying that (even though I knew my product was ‘good’) that it wouldn’t stand up to any sort of scientific scrutiny if challenged. Gawd, it was just a concoction of leafy bits with lanolin and glycerine and essential oils and stuff…how could I possibly make money out of that? :smack:
Yeah, now I see the error of my reasoning. Shonkier people have made megabucks from so-called natural remedies for years…I could be a multisquillioner now.
Malahoth I should sue you for stealing the idea I never acted on! My store was to be called “Vids and Pizzas”. Get it?
I never patented the idea I had in a very vivid dream in 1976 after playing Pong for several hours - a small hand-held device on which there were controls to the sides and a screen on the front. In my dream you played a game on the screen in which you had to dock a small spaceship into a big one.
I didn’t invest in mobile phone stock and retail when I thought of it - back in 1991.
