The concept of NEATsheets came about on a road trip our parents took a few years ago. Retired, they had decided to drive from the East Coast to the Rocky Mountains. Along with seeing some "bucket list" national sites, such as Cooperstown and Badlands, they wanted to stretch their legs and play some golf along the way. On a tee-time schedule, they often found themselves eating tuna salad and turkey sandwiches en route and polos with drips and khakis with stains were not appropriate. Thus the idea for the Drippy Dicky, later renamed NEATsheets, was born.
Our initial target market was fast food. That's how the idea came about, and that was the avenue we initially pursued. However, it was not as evident as we had initially thought. The market was too price sensitive, and we were determined to be a quality item, and while the idea of a napkin that saved you from fast food stains was conceptually strong, we needed to change a pattern of behavior. For some odd reason, people are attached to covering themselves with newspapers, ripped bags, or a collage of one-ply napkins.
It was after a visit with our grandmother that we decided to pivot on our market. Here was a fabulously elegant woman whose physical abilities had changed, and there were no dignified options to address her new needs. Ironically with a background in design, we came up with the simplest solution. Make it look like an attractive napkin, but protect like a bib.
Ironically, after identifying the seniors as the most direct entrance into the market, we are now consistently confronted with the response, "Have you thought about...commuters, professionals who eat at their desk, field trips, airplane travel, make-up application, weddings, picnics, and of course, and food trucks?" Yeah, we think about these usage occasions every day because of the amazing comments we get from our growing customer base who are telling us the great ways they are using NEATsheets. So if you don't want to wear your breakfast burrito or lunchtime salad to work, show everyone how smart you are and stick on a NEATsheet.