Tucked away in Ann Arbor, Michigan is NewProductWorks (NPW). Affiliated with global market research consultants GfK, NPW has a stock of about 120,000 different products across 350 categories. There is just about one of everything crammed onto the shelves. For this reason, companies and individuals looking to create and market a new product will pay a hefty sum to visit, explore, and study the products that succeeded–and those that didn’t. NPW has been given the nickname “the Museum of Failed Products,” and considering that, depending on the industry, as much as 50% of new products fail, that nickname is dead-on.
GfK Executive Vice President of Market Opportunities and Innovation Elliot Rossen told CBS News that when people design a new product, they are asking themselves, “How can we change the world? How can we change people’s lives and the way people work?” However, sometimes, the world was not looking for that particular change.
These eight astounding fiascos top the list of failed products:
Vegetable Flavored Jell-O
Image Source: The Huffington Post
Jell-O was quite the fad in the 1950s and 1960s. Even these Jell-O salads had their heyday, with exciting and questionable recipes like Ring-Around-the-Tuna (“A beautiful jewel-like entree salad for your luncheon or buffet table”). While Jell-O continued to come out with adventurous gelatin concoctions, they couldn’t quite get these vegetable flavors to stick. Celery, Mixed Vegetable, Italian Salad, and Seasoned Tomato Jell-O have long since faded away.
Failed Products: Ayds
Ayds was an appetite suppressant candy with a strikingly unfortunate name. To be fair to Ayds, they launched back in 1937. By the 1970s, they were one of the top-selling weight-loss products. However, with the 1980s came AIDS. By 1988, sales had dropped 50% and Ayds changed its name to Diet Ayds in an attempt to recover. They never did.
Pepsi A.M.
Pepsi for breakfast! In the late 1980s, Pepsi identified a group of young consumers who were drinking cola for their morning perk instead of coffee. Jumping on this untapped resource, Pepsi created Pepsi A.M., which contained more caffeine than a regular Pepsi and was marketed as a morning beverage.
Unfortunately, Pepsi did not take into account that while some people did enjoy a morning can of soda, there was no specific demand for a new sub-brand. Those who drank Pepsi with breakfast were happy to do so with the original brand and the remaining consumer population preferred a standard P.M. Pepsi. After one year, Pepsi A.M. was discontinued.
Failed Products: Bald Guyz Head Wipes
We all know sex sells. And nothing says sexy like the image of a bald man wiping his head with a moist towelette.
Don’t think so? Neither did consumers.
That said, you can still purchase Bald Guyz Head Wipes. They just tend to be on the shelves in a state of perpetual markdown.
Earring Magic Ken
Image Source: Pinterest
While Mattel swore he was just a regular “90s guy,” the gay community insisted there was no way Earring Magic Ken was not catered towards them. Rick Garcia, director of Chicago’s Catholic Advocates for Lesbian and Gay Rights at the time, said, “You can’t look at Earring Magic Ken and not think gay. He’s stereotypically gay—it’s what you saw gay men wearing a few years back. And that plastic ring that Ken wears looks an awful lot like what gay men were buying at sex shops.”
Of course, homophobic parents had a problem with his “unwholesome” appearance and Earring Magic Ken was recalled. But, if anything, we can all salute Earring Magic Ken for forcing Mattel to come out with this statement:
“We’re not in the business of putting cock rings into the hands of little girls.”
Failed Products: Heinz EZ Squirt Colored Ketchup
In 2000, Heinz decided that the red color of ketchup was too boring and introduced colored ketchup in the EZ Squirt bottle. The ketchup came in Blastin’ Green, Funky Purple, Stellar Blue, Passion Pink, and Mystery Color.
Heinz first came out with green ketchup. Kids were excited by it and Heinz had initial success. But in the end, children aren’t the ones buying products. So while parents were willing to buy EZ Squirt once or twice as a fun treat, Funky Purple ketchup was not going to be the household staple. It lasted just about six years, until the fad faded and parents breathed a sign of relief–because a cheeseburger slathered in alien green is pretty gross.
Gerber Singles
Image Source: businessinsider.com
For mysterious reasons known only to Gerber, the longstanding baby food company decided to set out in the hopes of conquering the world of helpless college students and depressed single adults with Gerber Singles.
Individual servings of exciting meals like Beef Burgundy, Creamed Beef, Beef with Mushroom Cream, Chicken Madeira, Mediterranean Vegetables, and Blueberry Delight were sold in small glass jars. So, it was baby food, but mature baby food intended for the finely tuned adult palette. It was a massive flop.
Failed Products: Clairol’s Touch of Yogurt Shampoo
Image Source: 3.bp.blogspot.com
In an effort to make shampoo for oily hair, Clairol decided that yogurt was the answer. Except, not even the oily-haired consumer really liked the idea of washing their hair with yogurt. Touch of Yogurt Shampoo came out in 1979. At the time, shampoos contained lemon, herbs, honey, and fruit. However, consumers couldn’t make the leap to yogurt. Sadly, a few poor souls who did buy the shampoo thought that it was edible and were sorely disappointed when they got sick.
This all could have been avoided, because Clairol actually introduced a very similar product three years previously called Look of Buttermilk Shampoo, which also went down in flames. While this set of consumers hadn’t attempted to eat the shampoo, they did wonder what the “look of buttermilk” was and why on earth they would possibly want it.
Interestingly, today, food-based and natural products are all the rage. When creating Touch of Yogurt, Clairol wasn’t listening to the market, but they were ahead of their time. For example, Organix Enriching Cucumber Yogurt Shampoo and Conditioner, complete with “ultra whipped yogurt proteins” and “organic avocado oils” is a very successful product. There are also countless homemade, yogurt-based shampoo recipes online for the chemical-conscious. Touch of Yogurt Shampoo probably would have been popular with the contemporary consumer.
It just goes to show how thoroughly the market is dependent on timing. A good idea is not enough to be successful. Products fail for countless reasons. One stroll through the long, cluttered aisles of the Museum of Failed Products will surely prove that.
