Summary of ASI Show 2008

Hello, this is Juan C. Blanco, Invent-Tech’s Director of Product Licensing, with our summary of the 2008 .

This prominent event took place between March 16th and 18th at the McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois and certainly lived up to its well-established reputation of excellence and sheer size. According to the show’s official website, over 2,000 exhibitors were on hand, throughout the South and North Halls of the McCormick Place, along with the expansive Lakeside Pavilion.

Traffic at the Invent-Tech booth was, as customary, solid throughout the 3 days of the show. With the opening day taking place on a Sunday, attendance appeared to wane over the last few hours but picked up with a vengeance at the onset of the work week on Monday. The Invent-Tech trade show contingent had the pleasure of making a solid number of what look to be promising contacts that were very interested in the particulars of our new product idea information service targeted at manufacturers, marketers, and distributors, Innovation Direct ™.

Included in this group of companies: An outfit that manufactures for two globally-renowned entities on a private label basis and also produces their own line of items; a fellow exhibitor headquartered in California that produces their own line of innovative household products; an Asian company that is interested in reviewing new product ideas from the Invent-Tech roster in multiple categories; and a Turkey-based firm that is looking for a variety of new products and that was intrigued by the sound of ITT’s dynamic new product idea subscription service for manufacturers, Innovation Direct™. 

Additionally, the Invent-Tech booth was visited by a Global Director of a company  headquartered in the United Kingdom that boasts operations in over 60 countries and sales in over 180 according to its official website, and that manufactures and distributes products in 5 core categories: Health and Personal Care, Fabric Care, Surface Care, Dishwashing, and Home Care.  According to their official website, 75% of the company’s sales come from brands that occupy the top 2 positions in their market and the company estimates that over 9 million of their products are sold daily on a worldwide basis. Moreover, 40% of the company’s sales come from products launched within the last 3 years, making them extremely receptive to innovation at all times.

Naturally, the Manufacturer Response Team has already begun follow-up with these companies in an attempt to establish ongoing and beneficial relationships with as many of them as possible. In fact, as of this writing, the aforementioned England-based manufacturer has already begun reviewing their initial Innovation Direct package. For ongoing updates on developments with these and other contacts made during the 2008 International Home and Housewares Show, visit our Invent-Tech Network Blog.

Speaking of the Blog, as a reminder, it is accessible through our website, www.invent-tech.com. During each trade show event, multiple updates live from the exhibit floor are provided throughout each day of the proceedings. Also, be sure to check our website after each trade show for a full array of photos from the event.

Pictures from the show