Sun Tan Tattoo

[SummerGladness]

Hey guys,

So I come up with random ideas quite frequently and sometimes I can be too precious to share them which is a scarcity mindset and ultimately stopping me from growing/learning in the long run. As MJ says, an idea is worth nothing without execution and people always overvalue them. Currently I fit into that category and want to break out of it.

So here's just a quick one I thought of recently. Partly inspired by the tattoo discussion thread on here and partly by the good weather in the UK lately

So it's just a simple concept, you get a sort of black sticker in whatever shape which you slap on your skin and as your body tans it leaves a white outline on your body.

As a an example imagine the yin and yang symbol. So you'd have a little dot on one side then the circle etc You could take it further and have more complex lines/patterns.

Do I think there is a huge demand/need for this currently? Not that I've heard of but it's an original idea and people could get into them just for fun. A bit like kids have those colourful transfers that wear off over time.

I'm thinking along the lines of henna body art as well which is just another non permanent body art type thing. Maybe people would get into it as a summer or holiday kind of fad. Like oh i've been somewhere hot look at my pattern outline.

Don't mind if people wanna flame the idea, just literally throwing it out there to see what people think.

Peace

 

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[Merging Left]

I've seen these online done with sunscreen, but I think you'll need to work out the issue of having the tattoo area showing up without forcing your users to burn the rest of their bodies. It's certainly a fun idea. Could be popular among the female sun-tanning crowd.

 

[B_Mac]

Hey guys,

So I come up with random ideas quite frequently and sometimes I can be too precious to share them which is a scarcity mindset and ultimately stopping me from growing/learning in the long run. As MJ says, an idea is worth nothing without execution and people always overvalue them. Currently I fit into that category and want to break out of it.

So here's just a quick one I thought of recently. Partly inspired by the tattoo discussion thread on here and partly by the good weather in the UK lately

So it's just a simple concept, you get a sort of black sticker in whatever shape which you slap on your skin and as your body tans it leaves a white outline on your body.

As a an example imagine the yin and yang symbol. So you'd have a little dot on one side then the circle etc You could take it further and have more complex lines/patterns.

Do I think there is a huge demand/need for this currently? Not that I've heard of but it's an original idea and people could get into them just for fun. A bit like kids have those colourful transfers that wear off over time.

I'm thinking along the lines of henna body art as well which is just another non permanent body art type thing. Maybe people would get into it as a summer or holiday kind of fad. Like oh i've been somewhere hot look at my pattern outline.

Don't mind if people wanna flame the idea, just literally throwing it out there to see what people think.

Peace

Maybe you don't have these in the UK, but I saw them in a gym that also had tanning back in 2011. There are some available on Amazon and other websites. Searching tanning stickers is how I found most of the results.

For example: Your Ultimate Tanning Help - Where to Buy Tanning Stickers?

I think if you were making a business of it, you'd need to come up with some original designs. Most of the stickers I see are simple (dolphin, playboy bunny) , so I think if you could make stickers with more detail that showed well on a tan, you might have a business worth pursuing.

 

[SummerGladness]

I think you'll need to work out the issue of having the tattoo area showing up without forcing your users to burn the rest of their bodies

Yeah that was one of the first things I thought. You could sell these in bulk directly to tanning/spraying salons though which would kill that argument. Think spraying is more popular in the UK or at least those are the ones I see the most.

Cheers for the info B Mac. Maybe they stick to simple designs because more complex ones don't show up and are harder/more expensive to manufacture?

Something to think about.

 

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[David Young]

I like the idea. Personally would prefer the sticker to be translucent/ less obvious on the skin. The quality of the art work and ease of use will be key.

 

[SummerGladness]

I like the idea. Personally would prefer the sticker to be translucent/ less obvious on the skin. The quality of the art work and ease of use will be key.

I don't think it can be translucent really because the whole idea is to block out the sunlight in order to get that contrast on the skin. Maybe there is some kind of material where it could be a very light colour and still block it out though.

I see your point in that people might want to wear it discretely out in public rather than walk around with a black sticker on their back. Might not be a huge issue though especially if you're using it in the privacy of a tanning place.

One thing that could be an issue is getting it to stick on firmly. You don't want it peeling off easily but you also want to be able to get it off with pain or making a mess when you do eventually want to peel it. So finding the balance on how sticky could be a thing.

Along the same lines, the more complex patterns could mean the stickers are weaker/flimsy which is why you're seeing these simple designs at the moment. But I also see that as an opportunity, if you come up with some cool and unique designs it would be your unique selling point.

 

[David Young]

I don't think it can be translucent really because the whole idea is to block out the sunlight in order to get that contrast on the skin. Maybe there is some kind of material where it could be a very light colour and still block it out though.

I see your point in that people might want to wear it discretely out in public rather than walk around with a black sticker on their back. Might not be a huge issue though especially if you're using it in the privacy of a tanning place.

One thing that could be an issue is getting it to stick on firmly. You don't want it peeling off easily but you also want to be able to get it off with pain or making a mess when you do eventually want to peel it. So finding the balance on how sticky could be a thing.

Along the same lines, the more complex patterns could mean the stickers are weaker/flimsy which is why you're seeing these simple designs at the moment. But I also see that as an opportunity, if you come up with some cool and unique designs it would be your unique selling point.

To develop the contrast you need to block the appropriate UV radiation more than the surrounding skin. There are translucent materials/ lotions that can do this- a material does not have to be opaque to prevent UV transmittance.

 

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[Stargazer]

You mean this type of thing?

Tanning stickers | Etsy

I think the reason you don't see many people bother with these is that they prefer those one week temporary tattoos which can have colour and look like real ones but fade away after a week.

Not that I have any but they seem to only cost a couple of quid.

Largest Selection Temporary Tatuaggi in the World | TattooForAWeek Largest Temporary Tattoo Shop Worldwide - TattooForAWeek

And unlike Henna which are usually brownish they are just transfer stickers instead of potential henna burns if henna is applied incorrectly.

So maybe you can get a load of the stickers and hang around some of the music, food etc festivals around you over the summer.

Dan

 

[SummerGladness]

Yeah so looks like it's already been done and there isn't much in the way of demand. I wouldn't sell them at festivals or anything, seems the wrong way to do it. Like either sell tons of them in bulk to businesses or don't bother. Don't wanna disobey scale It was good getting feedback in here though and it was just a passing idea.

 

[SummerGladness]

Just reminding myself of the CENTS commandments as I'm finishing off unscripted and it really makes this idea look super weak in my mind now.

In terms of control I'd have a fair bit, you could create the product yourself but you'd be fairly reliant on a number of different retailers either online or in person, stocking it. Like being reliant on a big tanning chain for example.

Entry is too easy, it would be super easy for people to copy these and enter the marketplace which would mean lots of competition and that's the opposite of what we want.

In terms of need, I don't think there is much of one. It could maybe tickle the fancy of the odd person entering a tanning salon but that's about it. Doesn't solve a problem and people aren't going to be beating down your door to get hold of these. So another fail.

Time, I think it passes this. Once you've got the products out and all your channels up and running it wouldn't be too bad. They could sell while you sleep.

Scale, again I think it could achieve this if there was a demand but there isn't. If everyone wanted one you could just make more.

Just thinking out loud here really but feel free to chime in if anyone thinks I'm misinterpreting the CENTS model.

Peace

 

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[B_Mac]

Just reminding myself of the CENTS commandments as I'm finishing off unscripted and it really makes this idea look super weak in my mind now.

In terms of control I'd have a fair bit, you could create the product yourself but you'd be fairly reliant on a number of different retailers either online or in person, stocking it. Like being reliant on a big tanning chain for example.

Entry is too easy, it would be super easy for people to copy these and enter the marketplace which would mean lots of competition and that's the opposite of what we want.

In terms of need, I don't think there is much of one. It could maybe tickle the fancy of the odd person entering a tanning salon but that's about it. Doesn't solve a problem and people aren't going to be beating down your door to get hold of these. So another fail.

Time, I think it passes this. Once you've got the products out and all your channels up and running it wouldn't be too bad. They could sell while you sleep.

Scale, again I think it could achieve this if there was a demand but there isn't. If everyone wanted one you could just make more.

Just thinking out loud here really but feel free to chime in if anyone thinks I'm misinterpreting the CENTS model.

Peace

If you have a product worth stocking, I think a retailer would want to stock it. I don't think you would need to be concerned about relying on big tanning chains, since I have seen many tanning places that are a one-off location or regional at best (5-10 stores in an area).

Entry is easy in that anyone can have some stickers made. But I doubt there is a well-known brand for this. I think if you could find a way to make unique designs and create a need for your brand, you would be protected against people trying to do it as a me too product. So you'd have to make it so that when people go to a tanning place, they are asking for SummerG stickers.

I picked the first result on Amazon for tanning stickers https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GJ01MM/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

A very rough estimate is that this product alone sells about 1,400 units a year. And many of the top results for stickers do not offer prime shipping, which I think causes the seller to miss out on alot of sales.

From my understanding, anyone who uses this will need to purchase multiple times. So if I want kissing lips on my lower back, I need to put a sticker on every time I go to the tanning place.

You keep saying demand for this isn't there. What are you basing this on? A CDC study I found says an estimated 5.6% of US adults used a tanning place in 2010, and that does not count spray tans. That's 1.37 million people. Use of Indoor Tanning Devices by Adults — United States, 2010

I'm not saying I'm an expert on this. I don't go to a tanning bed. In fact, I have one of the finest farmer's tans you have ever seen. But I think this is an interesting idea.

EDIT - My wife used to tan ALOT ( I put a stop to that when we got married. Skin cancer is no joke). I asked if she used them when she tanned. She said yes. I asked how often she used the stickers. She said everytime. I asked her how many of her friends used them. She said everyone. Demand is there.

If I were not working on something else right now, I'd be interested in this.

 

[SummerGladness]

Yeah you could sell through amazon but then they have the control. Don't wanna sound too obsessive on that front but I'm not sure how many people would seek this product out if it was just operating from a standalone website.

The one thing I do think is that the current designs are pretty unambitious and probably aimed just at women. I would want to make designs that also appeal to teenagers or men as well. So taking an existing product and improving upon it in that sense.

For example -

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0723CJ2ZH/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

Hopefully it's ok for me to post that link, I don't know how to hyperlink on here or anything.

But if you take some of the more simple designs from that bunch, I think they'd be pretty cool and would work.

I'm also rocking the farmer tan atm which is kinda how I got thinking about this

p.s. a quick scan of amazon reviews reveals a few things. One of the main gripes is the stickiness as I mentioned earlier. People complain they fall off. So addressing that would be important.

People mention they use them when they get themselves spray tanned. Those who complained of them falling off say they had them on in the daytime just tanning naturally.

Seems to be mostly women and people who use tanning salons that purchase the stickers. Not sure how much demand there is for a sort of alternative sticker style and also not sure if my idea that teenagers would get into them is true. Maybe they could buy some and just slap them on in the summer without using salons though.