Q & A with Street Surfing
Last week we gave you the opportunity to submit questions for Street Surfing about their Live Product Search for action-oriented toys and action-sports products. On Friday afternoon we touched base with a representative from Street Surfing for an insightful Q & A session, learning more about their business and gaining helpful pointers for submitting to their search. You can listen to the podcast or read the interview transcript that follows.
Q & A with Street Surfing
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
This is Meredith Beck with Edison Nation and today I’ve got a representative on the line with Street Surfing that’s here to answer the questions that you submitted about their Live Product Search for action-oriented toys and action-sports products.
Q1: First off, why did you choose to partner with Edison Nation to find innovative products?
A: Well I think that Edison Nation provides us with an infrastructure for inventors and everyday people to approach us with ideas. We’ve definitely had success developing our own ideas in-house, but we find it so exciting when we find products elsewhere.
Q2: What have been the largest trends you have seen in this field of products?
A: The trend is definitely moving all around all the time. We see developments in scooters and skateboards. With backyard toys there’s always new innovative products and that’s one of the most important for us is something that’s truly innovative. We get really excited when we find action-oriented toys or action-sports products that are not only creative but have marketability.
Q3: Will you accept existing products but upgrade them to look better, different and more attractive to kids?
A: That’s definitely an option to upgrade something, whether it’s the inventor that upgrades it or we’re trying to make the product better to make it more marketable. We want to see products that get kids off the couch and moving around, so it really doesn’t matter whether it’s in the backyard, in the park or out on the street; whether it’s an existing product or not.
Q4: Here is another question from one of our inventors. They said, “When creating a board prototype and testing it in a demonstration video, what kinds of things do you want to see the prototype do? Specifically, what should an inventor be showing you about the board prototype?
A: With a skateboard we want to see why it’s different than your everyday skateboard, so I would ask yourself, “What will make this product stand out on the shelf?” If a video is going to show that it’s easier to do tricks, or you know, maybe you can create new tricks entirely, then that’s something good to show us. Really just about anything with or without wheels, from skateboards to outdoor games, and I definitely think that video is a good way to show it’s going to stand out.
Great, so it’s not just working prototypes based on skateboards or Wave boards. You’re looking for wheeled, non-wheeled, what have you.
Absolutely.
Q5: Is there a specific age group that your company would like to target for the next new hit product?
A: Our products tend to target all different age groups from five years old all the way to 17 years old and older. And retailers really look to us to supply them with innovative products targeted within any of those age ranges, so I really think that the most important thing rather than age range is that it is innovative.
Q6: How popular is Street Surfing within the teen girl market? Is expanding this demographic a priority for you?
A: We have a very strong presence in the teen girl market globally. Expanding any demographic is always a great opportunity but we also have a commitment to all kids and teens whether they’re boys or girls. We’re a recognized brand in many countries around the world and our goal is to provide quality, active fun.
Q7: How sensitive is your market to price? Do you have a price range sweet-spot for your industry? Could you tell us more about that?
A: The action sports industry and the toy industry have a range of all different prices. I mean you see things from $1, $2 retail all the way up to, you know, $200-$500. For this product search, we are definitely looking to see anything in the range from $10 up to $100. Anything over that $100 range I would definitely be careful when exploring those ideas.
Q8: Thanks for the pointer. And our last question came from an inventor that wrote: “I have an item that requires balance, coordination and is fun to use. I used it when a kid, and it was cool…but it doesn’t have wheels. It is something that I used to take to school and challenge other kids to use. Most would say, “Oh, that’s easy”…until they tried it! But, once you get the hang of it, it’s easy and fun. However, it’s not a skate or Wave board. Would you be interested in something that doesn’t have wheels if it would get the kids active?
A: Absolutely. Definitely getting the kids active and having fun is the big key thing here. You know, when kids first see the Wave, some think that it’s going to be easy, some think that it’s going to be hard, but they all get the hang of it one way or another pretty quick. If everyone can do it, if a product’s creative, if it can be played with for hours and hours, it doesn’t have to have wheels to be a fit for Street Surfing.
Well that looks like those were all the questions we had for you, thanks so much for your time today. Just a head’s up: December 14th is the final day to submit your innovative concept for Street Surfing. So, get to it!
