Griot's Wax Stick

We all know Autopia is where all the COOL people hang..why wouldn't they? I know car companies frequently browse fan sites. In fact the GM of Saturn has a chat session scheduled on saturnfans
 
BlackSunshine said:
Something tells me the folks over at Griot's don't spend their days surfing the Autopia forums looking for ideas to rip off. Call me crazy :nixweiss



I wouldnt at all be surprised, Griots is for enthusiasts, not the average joe, and if they havent heard about autopia, then theyre not doing a good job of knowing their audience are they?



I am sure there is at least one person in product development who looks around for new product ideas, and I would bet a whole lot that one of the places they look is autopia.
 
If they have a product development crew that can get a new product out in three months they should be up for a Nobel Prize.
 
3Dog said:
If they have a product development crew that can get a new product out in three months they should be up for a Nobel Prize.



Thank you. Finally someone else who sees the point I'm trying to make.
 
3Dog said:
If they have a product development crew that can get a new product out in three months they should be up for a Nobel Prize.



Actually, it's just reconfiguring a current product. It's not like they're reformulating their own carnauba, they're using their tried and true wax and putting it into a new container.



This can be done in less than a month... tops. Let's think about it for a moment... You're Richard Griot and someone from his "Product Development" group tells him about this nifty idea and he likes it! He then tells his team to find the right deodorant stick container. What's that got to take... a week at most? So they place the order for the new container for their tried and true wax. They have the new containers drop shipped to whomever is making their wax for them then start churning them out. Perhaps it gets even easier for Mr. Griot... He gets the idea from his Product Develpment team and calls his vendor for his wax, and tells them he wants to put it into a specific container. The vendor does the necessary research, gives Mr. Griot a quote and after a handshake and some coffee along with a few faxes and emails... voila... The Griot's Wax Stick. (Think also that he doesn't really have to do any product verification because all Mr. Griot has to do is read all the accollades and props to John for his wax stick idea.)



This is a very plausible scenario. I'm not saying this is what happened, but repacking a current product does not take that long. Who knows, perhaps he's had this idea waaaaaaay before John (E. Ness) made his version of the wax stick? :nixweiss



I'll give it to Mr. Griot... he's got the capital and resources to pull of something like this.



Just some food for thought on this Sweet 16 Thursday (UCLA vs. Kansas - Saturday)!!!



-Mike
 
I don't think 3 months is unreasonable, either. We've watched DavidB develop and bring to market an entire line of brand new products (Ultima/RDF) in not too much longer.
 
I'm not trying to take anything away from John for sure... I'm just skeptic that the idea came from here.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I don't think 3 months is unreasonable, either. We've watched DavidB develop and bring to market an entire line of brand new products (Ultima/RDF) in not too much longer.

Dont get me wrong Mike I love Polycharger and cant wait to try Ultima...but David is at least a month just on labeling.
 
Actually Richard Griot sold the company some 5+ years ago.



mixxmstrmike said:
Actually, it's just reconfiguring a current product. It's not like they're reformulating their own carnauba, they're using their tried and true wax and putting it into a new container.



This can be done in less than a month... tops. Let's think about it for a moment... You're Richard Griot and someone from his "Product Development" group tells him about this nifty idea and he likes it! He then tells his team to find the right deodorant stick container. What's that got to take... a week at most? So they place the order for the new container for their tried and true wax. They have the new containers drop shipped to whomever is making their wax for them then start churning them out. Perhaps it gets even easier for Mr. Griot... He gets the idea from his Product Develpment team and calls his vendor for his wax, and tells them he wants to put it into a specific container. The vendor does the necessary research, gives Mr. Griot a quote and after a handshake and some coffee along with a few faxes and emails... voila... The Griot's Wax Stick. (Think also that he doesn't really have to do any product verification because all Mr. Griot has to do is read all the accollades and props to John for his wax stick idea.)



This is a very plausible scenario. I'm not saying this is what happened, but repacking a current product does not take that long. Who knows, perhaps he's had this idea waaaaaaay before John (E. Ness) made his version of the wax stick? :nixweiss



I'll give it to Mr. Griot... he's got the capital and resources to pull of something like this.



Just some food for thought on this Sweet 16 Thursday (UCLA vs. Kansas - Saturday)!!!



-Mike
 
I'm not upset about it, in fact it gives my idea some level of credibility....... and anyone who wants a wax stick can cheaply make their own using the wax of their preference.



Griot's was perhaps the last place I expected to come out with it, especially since benvegas from Perfecar said he had already bought some sticks and was just waiting to fill them:



http://autopia.org/forum/825179-post8.html



Did Griot's actually get the idea from here on Autopia? I don't know, but I'd like to think that maybe they did ;) . In any case, when Griot's says "YOU SAW IT HERE FIRST... CARNAUBA PASTE WAX IN A CONVENIENT TO USE DISPENSER!", many of us know that we actually saw it first right here on our very own Autopia!



Remember the last line in my post: This idea is probably going to make some entrepreneur about a gazillion dollars, but remember you read about it here first!
 
3Dog said:
Actually Richard Griot sold the company some 5+ years ago.



Really? I wasn't aware of this so I asked one of the sales associate whether Richard Griot did sell the business and his response was:



Richard is still the proud owner of Griot's Garage. While he doesn't deal with the day-to-day sales/service anymore, Richard still plays a very active role in his business, from product development to more visionary areas like the growth of our business...



Could he have sold only a portion of Griot's Garage? Perhaps, but that's not clear in the email that I received from the sales associate.



-Mike
 
Problem we've had so far with "wax sticks" as they seem to be coined now is the wax not drying out. I dont feel it's prudent to put a 3-month expiration date on the wax. Of course the argument would be that the cap seals most of the wax and you wont have a problem, but in real life testing you'll find that the bottom part of the "stick" that allows the air in will make the wax at the end of the stick dry and crumbly. Then again, you *might* be able to offset that with additives, but why would you want to? In a "tub" or "tin", you dont have this problem. If you're a detailing professional of course you'll not experience drying as you use the wax so often and fast, but then you also wouldnt want a 3.5oz portion either. We havent poured or sold them in sticks for these reasons.



Of course, maybe Griot's wax stick is made of space aged polyspacecoolplastic designed by nasa that has a retroairgiziwhat to protect against drying and ready to cause a religious experience and be the best ever that nothing in the world or the universe can ever try to beat because its the absolute best wax you can ever use yay!
 
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