Beth Benike

Exactly. So I just went online. What am I going to buy on Amazon that's going to make it so my kid's not this distraction when he's old enough to join us at the table? So I did the search on Amazon. My friend said, you know, you really need to make sure you have a clean surface to put baby's food on because you never know what they're wiping these tables down with.

Exactly. So I just went online. What am I going to buy on Amazon that's going to make it so my kid's not this distraction when he's old enough to join us at the table? So I did the search on Amazon. My friend said, you know, you really need to make sure you have a clean surface to put baby's food on because you never know what they're wiping these tables down with.

If you put the stuff on the plate, the plates get thrown on the ground. I said, well, okay, cool. Yes, we need that. But I also want to attach their toys so that they can't throw them on the ground.

If you put the stuff on the plate, the plates get thrown on the ground. I said, well, okay, cool. Yes, we need that. But I also want to attach their toys so that they can't throw them on the ground.

No, no. There's been a million pacifier clips where you can like attach stuff to their clothes. And then there's regular placemats that you can like, they had this, I think at the time it was pretty much just disposable placemats that you could like stick down to the table. And I wanted something that was going to be reusable and an idea popped in my head.

No, no. There's been a million pacifier clips where you can like attach stuff to their clothes. And then there's regular placemats that you can like, they had this, I think at the time it was pretty much just disposable placemats that you could like stick down to the table. And I wanted something that was going to be reusable and an idea popped in my head.

And that night I went home and I got like silicone caulk that you use to like caulk around your sink or your bathtub, whatever. And I squirted it into a quarter baking sheet and then I started cobbling together something that might work That developed into me buying some silicone dog mats off of Amazon and suction cups.

And that night I went home and I got like silicone caulk that you use to like caulk around your sink or your bathtub, whatever. And I squirted it into a quarter baking sheet and then I started cobbling together something that might work That developed into me buying some silicone dog mats off of Amazon and suction cups.

And then I used another set of like my husband's fishing tethers to glue attachment points to the top of the placemat. So now there was a mat where you could put the food and then also these little fishing tether things where I could just change out toys and just hook up the toys. And because it was suctioned to the table, baby didn't throw it onto the ground.

And then I used another set of like my husband's fishing tethers to glue attachment points to the top of the placemat. So now there was a mat where you could put the food and then also these little fishing tether things where I could just change out toys and just hook up the toys. And because it was suctioned to the table, baby didn't throw it onto the ground.

Yeah, I mean, I didn't even know it was called a prototype at the time or a minimum viable product, I now know is the term. The most important step was to find a professional who knew how to do that, because I certainly did not. So I found my product developers in Utah, and they held my hand all the way through the manufacturing process.

Yeah, I mean, I didn't even know it was called a prototype at the time or a minimum viable product, I now know is the term. The most important step was to find a professional who knew how to do that, because I certainly did not. So I found my product developers in Utah, and they held my hand all the way through the manufacturing process.

We did look for manufacturing in the U.S., and because we were at such a small scale, it wasn't a fit for us to be able to start in the U.S., so we started in China.

We did look for manufacturing in the U.S., and because we were at such a small scale, it wasn't a fit for us to be able to start in the U.S., so we started in China.

It comes down to... costs and volume. So it is very expensive to manufacture in the U.S. Obviously, the cost of labor is very high, but most of the raw material that we use in manufacturing, like for us, we use silicone, which comes from silica, which is not readily available and sourced in the U.S.,

It comes down to... costs and volume. So it is very expensive to manufacture in the U.S. Obviously, the cost of labor is very high, but most of the raw material that we use in manufacturing, like for us, we use silicone, which comes from silica, which is not readily available and sourced in the U.S.,

So for us, to import the raw material was more expensive than importing the product in its finished packaged form.

So for us, to import the raw material was more expensive than importing the product in its finished packaged form.

So that's one aspect of it. But so for the factories that do exist in the U.S., they typically have very high minimum order quantities. So you would have to start off with 10,000 or 20,000 units of... to make it worth their time to set up the line. I mean, there's a lot of work that goes into a manufacturing line, setting up the machinery.

So that's one aspect of it. But so for the factories that do exist in the U.S., they typically have very high minimum order quantities. So you would have to start off with 10,000 or 20,000 units of... to make it worth their time to set up the line. I mean, there's a lot of work that goes into a manufacturing line, setting up the machinery.