Enhancing the Consumer Experience

The creation of the MixByMe dispensing platform was borne out of necessity when Melanie Werner, CEO, Mouse Trap Design, LLC, Carnegie, PA, surveyed her vanity and realized she had invested in five similar yet slightly different high-end fragrances, all with a limited shelf life. “I thought, ‘Why is there not a dispenser which allows the consumer to ‘dial-up and create’ their own scent based upon time of day, occasion, or mood?” she recalls. “It seemed to me that ‘dialing up’ was a more efficient way to wear fragrance plus I would be the creator of my own scent.” The idea of wearing a customized scent resonated with her and after researching the market, she discovered no such dispenser existed and since artisanal fragrance boutiques were cropping up in Paris and New York, the demand for customized perfume was clearly growing. “MixByMe is a contradiction; the dispenser helps create a unique, highly personalized perfume experience, but the technology itself speaks to mass-personalization,” she says. The dispenser had to look “sexy” and fit comfortably in a woman’s hand. After several years of R&D, and multiple prototype iterations, Mouse Trap Design has designed and patented a dispensing system that enables consumers to customize their own scent using a metered pump technology and dials that combine three or more liquids in varying concentrations. “Each of the three chambers has over a dozen settings creating thousands of possible combinations,” Werner explains. The MixByMe Valve system is designed to work with a single pump head, which is fed by three fluid paths. The flow through of each of these three fluid paths is controlled by the user via a dial. Each path is independently variable and the flow through each path is regulated. By combining 13 positions on three dials, there’s a total of 2,197 possible combinations. The technology can easily and conveniently alter the “mood” of a branded fragrance. For example, the branded fragrance can comprise the central vial, and complementary accords (i.e. top, heart and base notes) can be filled into adjacent vials within the same package housing. Furthermore, the dispenser models can be configured to be refillable or disposable, accommodating not just fragrance applications but also skincare and color cosmetic formulations.

Learn more at www.mixbyme.com.

Original article: www.beautypackaging.com

Melanie Werner had her “Eureka!” moment while staring at her vanity shelf, realizing that she had over $600 worth of high-end perfume, all with a limited shelf life. The marketing professional saw a product problem that was begging to be solved and her subsequent research showed that the market had no response for it. So she set out to create it.

That was 8 years ago. In 2011, she founded Mouse Trap Design as a product innovation and design company to develop her packaging vision. This year, Werner has launched MixByMe, with a patented multi-chamber dispenser that enables customers to customize and craft their own scent. Werner has signed the first national brand that will launch a product using MixByMe’s innovative dispenser.

“This is a fragrance industry first. Consumers typically layer a few fragrances—spray a little of this and that—to create their unique scent,” she says. The innovative packaging concept has a metered pump system and “dials” that change each chamber’s concentration, allowing the end-user to truly customize their scent.

“There is no technology that offers this level of precision,” Werner says. “From one fragrance in one bottle, you can have a thousand variations.”

“The technology also offers a greener packaging option for consumer products. Rather than having five things on your shelf, you can get it down to one,” Werner adds.

Werner sees many applications of the packaging technology beyond the fragrance industry—from pharmaceuticals, to household cleaning products, and food—think of an on-the-go cocktail mix, for one.

The first fragrance using MixByMe technology is going into production by the end of the year and will be available in early 2015.

Learn more at www.mixbyme.com.

Original article: http://www.nextpittsburgh.com/

Recognizing a market gap in the customization of personal products, Melanie Werner designed and patented MixByMeTM Technology — a multi-chamber perfume dispenser to custom-blend fragrances.

“The time is right. Consumer demand for personal fragrance has increased,” said Werner. “Mouse Trap Design shifts the paradigm of traditional fragrance by altering how consumers will wear, dispense, purchase and view their fragrance. For the first time, consumers can mix, blend and dispense their very own personalized fragrance!”

Before founding Mouse Trap Design in 2011 to create MixByMe Technology, Werner worked in advertising, marketing and PR for consumer products and services, then moved into healthcare, serving as a hospital marketing director. An entrepreneur at heart, Werner knew she had to pursue her idea for MixByMe Technology.

Werner explained that MixByMe offers a game-changing packaging innovation and allows for product customization that’s easily, precisely and intuitively controlled. She also noted that it creates new marketing opportunities to augment and expand the lucrative $30 billion fragrance market. Werner is discussing private label opportunities with retailers to create brands and lines of customizable fragrances.

MixByMe’s metered, pump-system platform technology can be adapted to accept a variety of liquids. Werner said the dispenser can be cross-marketed for topically applied color cosmetics, skin care treatments, dermatology applications and more—all of which can be sprayed, dripped, poured or pumped. She said the technology, which earned a patent in late 2013, could also be used to custom-mix spirits and home scents.

Getting a company off the ground and introducing game-
changing technology is no easy task for a solo entrepreneur. Werner brought on the services of business accelerator C-Leveled to help with marketing, research, branding and preparing for the overall product launch.

“C-Leveled has kept me on track,” said Werner. “They have given me great support!”

Werner first worked with FactorsNY, New York, for initial design, functional prototype and patent assistance. The project is now in the commercialization phase, and she felt moving the project to Daedalus Design, Pittsburgh, made better sense. Regular meetings with the Daedalus team keeps her ‘hands-on’ and focused on producing a quality product.

MixByMe will go into pre-production this fall with plans to hit the market in early 2015. The technology was a winner of the 2014 DATA Awards, and the company was recognized as an “Emerging Growth Company” by Pepper Hamilton Law.

“MixByMe Technology ushers in the era of perfume self-expression and unleashes the dream of a unique fragrance experience!” exclaimed Werner.

Learn more at www.mixbyme.com.

Original article: http://www.pghtech.org/