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INNOVATION RESOURCES

Stephen Key: Serial Inventor

Breakthrough:
Stephen Key's most famous invention is the Spinformation® Rotating Label which increases the amount of viewable area on a bottle by 75%.

Inventor:
Stephen Key, United States

The Story:
Stephen Key: Serial Inventor

Stephen Key has inventing in his blood. Just take a look at his history: from selling hand-made products at fairs, to designing and sculpting plush animals, to working on best-sellers such as Teddy Ruxpin, Key's talent has been in evidence since his first desire to become a self-supporting inventor.

Working with Worlds of Wonder inspired his interest in new products, and as he looked at the items being produced, his instincts told him he could do better.

As his expertise developed, toy manufacturers such as Disney, WOW, Applause and Dakin hired him on a freelance basis, but his heart was really invested in his own products.

One of his early successes was the Michael Jordan Wall Ball game, a small indoor basketball backboard that looked like a basketball player with his arms outstretched. It sold over a million units.

A chance reading of an article about how labels on containers are printed too small to read or are lacking information, lead him to focus his attention on solving this problem.

His solution was brilliant and elegant. Just add a rotating exterior label with a window that would reveal information on an inner label as the outer label was rotated.

Dubbed the Spinformation® Rotating Label, it was an instant success, and has received more than 13 industry awards. It was used on products such as Rexall Sundown Herbal products, Lawrey's Perfect Blend Seasons, Nescafe Coffee and a vitamin supplement in China.

Unfortunately, the production company bumped the price up and made the invention too costly for companies to use, and Key decided to break away and focus his efforts elsewhere.

When a childhood friend in the music business came to him and complained that the guitar pick hadn't been changed in eighty years, Key's interest was piqued and soon HotPicks was born.

He changed the shape of the pick to resemble a skull, and it caught on immediately, soon selling in 10,000 stores including Wal-Mart and 7 Eleven.

Obtaining a license from Disney, he soon branched out and created picks in the shape of Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh. Next came adding celebrity images to the picks. But after five years, he decided to move on, as his Spinformation® label business was garnering interest again.

Using his contacts at Disney, he sold them on the concept of using the twisting label on their new children's drink called Twist N Chill. The bottle featured Hannah Montana and Cars, and the twisting label revealed fun games and activities to entertain children while they drank the beverage.

Expanding the product's concept into the medical arena, Spinformation® is now being used to teach parents how to give a proper dose of liquid medication to their children, based on weight instead of age. Thousands of children were being over- or under-dosed before Accudial was developed.

Ever the inventor, Key, with a team of other entrepreneurs, then moved on to create a healthy, low-calorie, all-natural tea drink dubbed Söyu Natural Teas.The drink will, of course, use the Spinformation® label technology, and will be distributed in school vending machines. The labels will educate, enlighten and entertain students, providing information about health, global causes, college entrance and scholarships.

With such a background, we can hardly wait to see what this intrepid inventor comes out with next!

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