BEHIND-THE-SCENES: A Peek Into Our Product Development Process

Having worked as a product development engineer in the lab before, one of the most exciting parts of building Fig & Olive is the product development aspect.

I have always been a product person, especially physical products that you can touch, see and feel. There is so much thought, hard work, coordination, testing, iterating and perfecting even the simplest product before it hits the market.

Therefore, when given a blank canvas when starting Fig & Olive, dreaming of the hundreds of products we can potentially create was beyond exciting.

The very first thing business owners ask themselves is:

What should I sell? What product should I launch first?

While these questions may seem simple, the journey to finding the answer… not so much.

It is not just about creating a good product. All the pieces of the puzzle have to fit: from market demand, brand philosophy, timeline to technical capability and financial restrictions.

Today, we are going to take you behind-the-scenes of our product development process. Of course, we can’t show you everything since we have not launched the products, therefore you'll just get a sneak peek today!

STEP 1: REFINING OUR PRODUCT PHILOSOPHY

Fig & Olive’s goal is to create abundance in simplicity, to add intentionality back into our lives through physical products.

So, what does this mean for the products we develop?

We want to only create products that simplify yet amplify everyday life. What we use daily needs to be safe, effective, and pleasant to use. They also need to be timeless and functional.

Intentional living also means being conscious about how the products we use affect our overall wellness. Therefore, we knew that if we were to formulate products, we want them to be non-toxic and safe for everyday use- completely worry-free!

A little backstory:

When I was trying to minimize the clutter of products in my life, I also started looking through the ingredients list in the various products I used every day. Having worked in the lab where extensive precautions are taken when handling chemicals, I was a little taken aback to find out that some of these chemicals that I worked with in the lab are found in many of the products I used. Of course, trace amounts of them are considered safe, but when you combine all of them over time, they add a strain to your detoxification system and overall wellness.

Therefore, making non-toxic everyday products that customers would feel safe using even on their little ones was top priority for Fig & Olive.

STEP 2: DECIDING TO START WITH SHIRTS AND STAIN REMOVER SPRAY

Instead of following trends, we were very clear from the start that we wanted to focus on helping you build a timeless wardrobe. Timeless, versatile basic wear makes getting ready for your day effortless and fuss-free.

Our focus: comfort, fit and functionality, while making sure you look your finest to live out your day to the fullest.

Nothing screams all these like a classic oversized shirt!

So we decided to start with 2 designs that are guaranteed to be timeless pieces you would want to keep in your wardrobe to build your outfits on.

Next, why stain remover spray?

Part of having abundance in simplicity is by keeping high-quality pieces for a long time and getting the most wear out of your closet essentials. Therefore, we want to help you keep your favorite pieces longer.

How many white shirts have you folded and kept at the back of your closet because of a coffee stain that you’ve tried removing so many times but is just too stubborn to disappear?

One of the top reasons why we dispose of our clothes is the presence of stains that we can’t remove. The key to making your clothes last longer is to remove stains immediately.

Therefore, we were inspired to create this non-toxic, on-the-go stain remover spray as your first line of defense in keeping your clothes fresh and crisp.

Another backstory:

I have always used the Tide Stain Remover Pen (this is how it looks) When I started learning about environmental toxins and the concept of toxic load (a.k.a. how these affect our health & wellness over long periods of time), I realized that stain removers (and actually all other "strong" cleaners) are the worst offenders! They contain harsher chemicals that act as irritants, hormone-disruptors and the list goes on.

I started making my own DIY stain remover using vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, lemon peel and so forth, depending on what type of stain I was dealing with. While these worked fine, the user experience was rather unpleasant. Not only could it get messy (and smelly- imagine smelling like vinegar while cleaning a coffee stain), it was also inconvenient as I could not carry it with me while I was out and about. Therefore, the idea of an on-the-go, non-toxic stain remover is something very personal to me.

It is a product I personally want and will use so often in my everyday life.

STEP 3: INITIAL CONCEPTS WITH THE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT TEAM

We spent so much time creating inspiration boards that would help us create the perfect oversized shirt. There are so many of these on the market, and we wanted to create one that will become your go-to.

For the stain remover, we read so many scientific papers and research articles to refine the concept and definition of what non-toxic means to Fig & Olive. We also communicated very clearly with the research & development team that we will not compromise the safety of the product for other aspects (such as efficacy and cost). All the criteria of: non-toxic, effective and cost-friendly had to be met.

(Note: we got A LOT of pushback from the scientists. Some commented we were "over-reacting" to the harmful effects of typical chemicals used in detergents, "inflexible", "fussy". Therefore, we had to do a lot of the research ourselves to figure out the optimal combination of ingredients.)

STEP 4: LOTS AND LOTS (AND LOTS) OF TESTING AND ITERATING

This was the fun (and also frustrating) part. Lots of going back and forth doing testing of the products, improving with each round of testing, and then finalizing the product.

It is always a challenge to balance functionality, aesthetic and cost. We’ll let you in on one example of this back-and forth. (We'll share more in a future blog post, promise!)

When we thought we found the right blend, the stain remover liquid turned milky (sample A). Another instance when the stain remover was so effective in removing most stains, it dries out the skin (a BIG no-no for us especially since we want this to be safe around children).

After months of preparation, we are so proud to finally create our first collection that we cannot wait to reveal to you soon.

We hope you will enjoy using them as much as we enjoyed creating them! It truly has been a surreal experience seeing a concept on paper come to life.