Two limers relaxing, out of their packaging
It’s fitting that this invention came from a guy living in Palm Beach Gardens in the sandy state of Florida. Matt Moman, and his company Moman Sales, had specialized in plastic flowers. A business trip in 2007 led him to a company that made realistic looking limes. So realistic, he thought, there had to be more to it than just placement in fake fruit baskets.
While drinking a beer a few days later, a slight buzz and the “aha” moment came to him…to make a bottle opener using half of the realistic plastic lime. To this, he embedded a window type area for use in brand mark or logo placement (where the lime would be cut in half)....then added a magnet, so it was refrigerator ready.
He then focused his efforts on doing everything he could do to ready it for licensing to his perfect licensee, Grupo Modelo, the corporation behind the Corona brand of beers. He eventually ended up working with the original imitation lime manufacturer, Winward International, on a working model and filed for a design patent on his idea.
Matt, whose job is sales, noted that it was a buzzkill to knock on so many doors before the magical one finally opened, which is typical for getting any new idea or invention off the ground. He eventually successfully pitched and sold his new product, which he calls “the limer” to the main company he originally envisioned courting, Grupo Modelo. Luckily, he was able to get it into some executives there who saw the same great potential for increasing Corona’s brand awareness with a product that naturally complemented it.
The specialty product is now sold on Corona.com and is selling briskly at the online store, as well as supermarkets and drugstores, with a retail price ranging from $7.99 to $9.99. Moman and Grupo Modelo are hoping for 250K pieces to sell this year alone and they both hope this to be a long-term product, not just a fad. Depending on actual sales and a decent royalty percentage in his license deal, Matt may be able to take more leisurely strolls on the beach, while his licensing checks get cut from Grupo Modelo’s accounts payable department across the U.S. border…
Editor's note: In celebration of two consecutive blogs relating to beer, along with today being Cinco de Mayo, I will cut a $25 check to the first person who posts a comment to this blog. The recession may be causing less blog comments of late, so am trying to stimulate the economy!
As always, you can post your comment anonymously, but make sure to provide an e-mail (not published) to contact you for a name and address to send the check to...no questions asked!
While drinking a beer a few days later, a slight buzz and the “aha” moment came to him…to make a bottle opener using half of the realistic plastic lime. To this, he embedded a window type area for use in brand mark or logo placement (where the lime would be cut in half)....then added a magnet, so it was refrigerator ready.
He then focused his efforts on doing everything he could do to ready it for licensing to his perfect licensee, Grupo Modelo, the corporation behind the Corona brand of beers. He eventually ended up working with the original imitation lime manufacturer, Winward International, on a working model and filed for a design patent on his idea.
Matt, whose job is sales, noted that it was a buzzkill to knock on so many doors before the magical one finally opened, which is typical for getting any new idea or invention off the ground. He eventually successfully pitched and sold his new product, which he calls “the limer” to the main company he originally envisioned courting, Grupo Modelo. Luckily, he was able to get it into some executives there who saw the same great potential for increasing Corona’s brand awareness with a product that naturally complemented it.
The specialty product is now sold on Corona.com and is selling briskly at the online store, as well as supermarkets and drugstores, with a retail price ranging from $7.99 to $9.99. Moman and Grupo Modelo are hoping for 250K pieces to sell this year alone and they both hope this to be a long-term product, not just a fad. Depending on actual sales and a decent royalty percentage in his license deal, Matt may be able to take more leisurely strolls on the beach, while his licensing checks get cut from Grupo Modelo’s accounts payable department across the U.S. border…
Editor's note: In celebration of two consecutive blogs relating to beer, along with today being Cinco de Mayo, I will cut a $25 check to the first person who posts a comment to this blog. The recession may be causing less blog comments of late, so am trying to stimulate the economy!
As always, you can post your comment anonymously, but make sure to provide an e-mail (not published) to contact you for a name and address to send the check to...no questions asked!
