What is Friendly Floss?
Friendly Floss is a reusable dental flossing tool designed to use with any brand of floss, giving a better flossing experience and replacing single-use floss picks.
How did it start?
Giles Edwards, founder and inventor of Friendly Floss, wanted to reduce single-use waste and provide a better flossing experience. He says his moment of inspiration came after watching David Attenborough’s Blue Planet and seeing the impact on albatross chicks from ingesting small plastic. He decided that he wanted to do his bit to help in an area he felt he could have the most impact.
Going from a simple idea to selling a product is no easy task; Gilles sees this as a journey. His commercialisation method was to self-manufacture. It was the first time that he had invented anything; he had no experience in taking a product to market. “Without Innovate, I would still have a great idea in my head and not much more. We highly recommend their service to get you started in the right direction and help along the way”, Giles remarks.
The journey – we call it the adventure – is never done alone.
Innovate helps clients from the initial Worldwide Patent Search all the way through to manufacture, including patent application, design, prototyping and packaging.
For Friendly Floss, it took a little time to get there and to get it right, and Giles recommends keeping your day job. Giles and his wife, Leslie, have done it in the evening and at weekends. We asked him what the highlights of this process were, and he said:
“Seeing the final product in its sustainable packaging delivered through the post! Involving our children in the process so they can see how many different careers there are, in general and across sustainability – design, engineering, manufacturing, technology, finance, legal, marketing – and getting their input on naming, design, marketing – they really get the significance of our impact in a way we just didn’t as children. And finally, bringing something to market we really believe can make a positive difference to our world has been a pleasure.”
What’s next?
The next step for Friendly Floss is to find more retailers and distributors across many countries. They are already working with one of our partner which specialises in selling innovative products, but would like to expand their reach worldwide. Inspired to contribute to a better planet, Giles has set up Reuseus Ltd in the UK, intending to make more reusable products to replace disposable ones.
His final words
“Without Innovate I would still have a great idea in my head and not much more. Innovate helped bring the idea to life by supporting us with the product and packaging design, finding a manufacturer and packaging company and recommending marketing and legal. We are really pleased with the final product. We hope you like it too!” Giles Edwards
What Innovate says
“This is a great product, and it shows entrepreneurs can be a solution to climate and societal changes. Giles and his wife spotted a problem but found a good business opportunity. As Co-MD of Innovate, I am always admirative of our clients who persevere and succeed; they are a great source of inspiration.” Barbara Bouffard Co-MD
You can buy Friendly Floss from www.friendlyfloss.com
Product protection in place (patent pending, registered design, tm etc. and in which countries): product patent pending, trademark of friendly floss and Reuseus (our company name) in UK and US and Reuseus in EU. Looking at registered design as well.
Product Instagram name: @reuse_us_
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