The Supermarket Meltdown That Changed Everything

I was standing in the supermarket with my daughter having yet another negotiation about snacks and toys when I realized we needed a different approach. Every shopping trip felt like a battle - she'd get bored, throw tantrums over something she wanted when I said no.

We've all seen it - kids rolling on the floor, parents standing there completely over it and slightly embarrassed because we know how judgmental people can get about "controlling" your child's behaviour in public. Don't get me started on babies crying in public or on a plane - some people really get wound up about it! I need to think of something for that too. Maybe a t-shirt that says "It's a baby! It doesn't understand whatever I say!" Anyway, I digress...

That's when I started involving her in the actual shopping. We'd sit at home and write a shopping list with items she was responsible for finding. She loved ticking them off! And that got me thinking...

The Lightbulb Moment

The breakthrough came from our evolving shopping lists. When we used to write stuff down, my daughter started drawing small images for each item we needed. That was it! Let's do it as flashcards! Perfect visual aid for younger kids who can't read yet, but also educational while shopping or at home.

The Design Process

My daughter and I brainstormed characters for each food item - pure magic watching her create personalities for everyday foods. Dancing mangoes, cheeky cereals, broccoli with attitude. We spent hours developing their backstories. We wanted to develop flashcards that had character and were different from mainstream flashcards, but we still needed to cover the basics of alphabet, numbers, colours and shapes. We spent hours looking for food items that start with those tricky letters - X, Z, Q! If you have better suggestions, please help us out.

Finding an illustrator who could understand our wild vision took time, but when I found the right artist, we went through multiple rounds of edits until each character had the perfect personality. The practical elements had to work too - we wanted reusability, so we had the cards laminated with a gloss finish so they work like whiteboards. Use a marker and then erase it for next time! Kids needed to carry this easily in supermarkets, so the binder ring system works like a handle and doubles as organization. You're in a busy shop with kids - you don't want to hunt for lost markers, so we integrated a pen loop. The size took many prototypes - too big and kids couldn't handle them, too small and details were lost.

Through real testing with my daughter, we discovered play possibilities we hadn't planned - storytelling with random character combinations, budget challenges for older kids, tracing practice leading to creative invention. Try our idea we came up with of Little Chef!

Then it came to the packaging design - what better place to add the way we were using the cards so other families could try it too! We also added a QR code linking to 10 printable characters, which later sparked our entire Colouring Tales book series. I even registered the UK design because we'd worked too hard on this concept to leave it unprotected.

The Manufacturing Reality Check

Then we had to make it into reality. So far, we were working in front of the computer choosing designs, working on characters, and the packaging, but now it was time for the next challenge - the physical development!

Finding manufacturers who could deliver quality at a fair price became a full-time job. It took me almost 6 months to find the right supplier and finalize negotiations - it was a steep learning curve! The challenge? People don't fully read briefs. When I thought I was comparing apples to apples with reasonable pricing, I was actually comparing apples to oranges all along.

Then there was learning about paper weights, printing terminology, finishes, coatings, UKCA and CE compliance, developing technical files and specifications. An entirely new world of knowledge I never expected to need.

Of course, we had hiccups during production - wrong colours on first prints, binder rings denting magnetic boxes during shipping - but thankfully we found a manufacturer who supported us through every challenge and resolved issues quickly. Every problem taught us something valuable for next time.

The Breakthrough Moment

Getting the first finished sample was overwhelming. My daughter and I both cried seeing our silly food character ideas transformed into something real that actually worked.

Even if we never sell a single unit, working with her to make this tangible has been an incredible gift.

The Scary Reality of Physical Stock

Unlike our print-on-demand books, this required real inventory investment. Watching money leave the account, waiting for products to arrive, then having Amazon block our account before launch - every step was a business education in resilience.

The financial risk is terrifying, but we as a family are passionate about this and ready to invest in this company. I will do everything to make this work! This is a personal note to myself to see how hard I worked for this - sometimes things might not work out, maybe this product isn't it, but I learned so much and it's ignited my passion to make this work no matter what!

Why This Product Started Everything

This was our first leap from idea to physical product. It taught us manufacturing, quality control, international regulations, inventory management, sales channel diversification, and intellectual property protection.

Most importantly, it proved our approach works - taking standard products and hacking them to solve real family problems while adding educational value.

The Dream Moment

I can't wait to be tagged with real customers using our products! Even better - seeing families using our flashcards right in the shop in front of me! Maybe I will go to them and be like "Oh wow, where did you get that from?!"

From supermarket meltdowns to organised treasure hunts - sometimes the best solutions come from the most chaotic moments.