Editor’s note: This article was first published in January 2016 as a short news item about mugs sold in Spain; the product being sold out at one online shop reflected that moment.
Up to now we had seen how a profitable business idea could be as simple as printing a positive message on a T-shirt, along the lines of “life is good” or “enjoy life”, whose creators quickly built a 100 million company. And they haven’t been the only ones. The most recent success story we came across was the father who put “10 rules for dating my daughter” on a T-shirt and turned it into a worldwide hit, while plenty of entrepreneurs have raised the starting capital for their company by selling T-shirts.
But now the messages are moving on to mugs. Mugs with optimistic messages already existed, but who would have thought that the idea of printing less optimistic messages would be a success?
See also: How to turn $1,000 into a business that makes more than $200,000 a year: the Andreea Ayers case
Yet that’s what happened with the so-called existentialist mugs, which usually carry a message that’s ideal for people who are tired of motivational phrases. On these mugs, instead of reading “life is good”, you’re more likely to find “your life is shit”.
There are messages as blunt as “You’re stupid”, ideal for a gift you feel obliged to give someone.
Is your self-esteem a little too high? Well, remember: “Nobody loves you”.
And other mugs carry some rather funny pictures.
When I saw them, I found them “cute”, so I looked up where they were sold to get an idea of whether they had been a sales success or not. Sure enough, at least in the only online shop I found selling them, the product was already sold out, even though the mugs weren’t exactly cheap. What I don’t know is whether they sold out because of high demand or because the number of mugs in stock was too low.
See also: How to validate your business idea in under 5 minutes with a napkin and a pen
The truth is, we don’t always need to overcomplicate things to find an original product that people like. Sometimes the simplest thing works, as long as it’s fun or curious.
See also: How to find a profitable product to sell and build a business
Featured image: Phillip Pessar, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
