How to Develop a New Product (From Concept to Market)



For example, when Tina Roth-Eisenberg’s daughter brought home some semi-permanent tattoos she felt were lacking, she mobilized her community of fellow designers to create Tattly.


On their own, these inspiring stories don’t provide an end-to-end blueprint for product development, but the similarities they share reveal some of the steps founders consistently take on the road to starting a business and shipping a finished product.

The new product development process in 6 steps

New product development is the process of bringing an original product idea to market. Although it differs by industry, it can essentially be broken down into six stages: ideation, research, planning, prototyping, sourcing, and costing.

Here’s how to develop your own original product idea and what to consider at each stage.

1. Ideation

Many aspiring entrepreneurs get stuck on ideation, often because they’re waiting for a stroke of genius to reveal the perfect product they should sell. While building something fundamentally “new” can be creatively fulfilling, many of the best ideas are the result of iterating upon on an existing product.


  • Substitute (e.g. faux fur for fur)
  • Put to another use (e.g. memory-foam dog beds)
  • Eliminate (e.g. get rid of the middleman to sell sunglasses and pass the savings on to consumers)
  • Reverse/Rearrange (e.g. a duffle bag that doesn’t wrinkle your suits)


If you’re still looking for your “aha!” moment, we also put together a list of sources for coming up with your own product ideas, from analyzing online marketplaces and product descriptions for inspiration to reinventing historical trends.

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2. Research


Product validation ensures you’re creating a product people will pay for and that you won’t waste time, money, and effort on an idea that won’t sell. There are several ways you can validate your product ideas, including:

  • Talking about your idea with family and friends
  • Sending out an online survey to get feedback
  • Starting a crowdfunding campaign
  • Asking for feedback on forums like Reddit
  • Researching online demand using Google Trends
  • Launching a “coming soon” page to gauge interest via email opt-ins or pre-orders


Product validation ensures you’re creating a product people will pay for.




3. Planning


When you eventually approach manufacturers or start looking for materials, if you don’t have a concrete idea of your product’s design and how it will function, it’s easy to get lost in the subsequent steps.


product development sketches for hidden radioProduct sketches from the crowdfunding campaign for a bluetooth speaker by Hidden Radio.




  • Zippers (large and small)
  • Silver clasps
  • Leather straps
  • Protection pouch
  • Embossed label
  • Interior wallet



4. Prototyping



razor prototypesSeveral prototypes for the Angle Razor by Morrama.





trifecto infininity pen A 3D rendering for the Trifecto Infinity pen.

To get a 3D design turned into a physical model, makers used to have to get molds made for each part. Molds are typically expensive and involve set-up fees for things like tools and dies that are used to cut and shape pieces of plastic and other hard materials.


Chris Little, the founder of Wintersmiths, prototyped his line of barware using Quickparts and explains that he was able to do so on a budget and within a few days’ time. Alex Commons of Bulat Kitchen recommends 3D Hubs, which he used to prototype a knife, paying around $30 per 3D-printed model.

3d printed knife product prototypeA 3D-printed Bulat Kitchen knife design by 3D Hubs.

5. Sourcing

Once you have a product prototype you’re satisfied with, it’s time to start gathering the materials and securing the partners needed for production. This is also referred to as building your supply chain: the vendors, activities, and resources needed to create a product and get it into a customer’s hands.

While this phase will mainly involve finding manufacturers or suppliers, you may also factor storage, shipping, and warehousing into your choice.


During product development, each journey to a finished product is different.

When looking for suppliers, there are plenty of resources both online and in person. While it may seem old fashioned, many business owners choose to attend trade shows dedicated to sourcing. Trade shows like Magic in Las Vegas provide the opportunity to meet hundreds of vendors at once—to see, touch, and discuss materials and build a personal relationship with suppliers, which can be valuable when it comes time to negotiate prices.


The most commonly used sourcing platform for overseas production is Alibaba. Alibaba is marketplace for Chinese suppliers and factories, where you can browse listings for finished goods or raw materials. A popular way of using Alibaba to find a manufacturer is to look for listings with similar products to your own and then contact the factory to see if they can produce your specific design.

6. Costing


Begin by creating a spreadsheet with each additional cost broken out as a separate line item. This should include all of your raw materials, factory setup costs, manufacturing costs, and shipping costs. It is important to factor in shipping, import fees, and any duties you will need to pay in order to get your final product into the customer’s hands, as these fees can have a significant impact on your COGS, depending on where you are producing the product.

product development costing spreadsheetA product costing example. You can view it in full or copy and adapt this spreadsheet to create your own.

If you were able to secure multiple quotes for different materials or manufacturers during the sourcing phase, you can include different columns for each line item that compare the cost. Another option is to create a second version of the spreadsheet, so you can compare local production versus overseas production.


Product development in popular industries

The product development process will naturally vary by industry, so let’s take a brief look at what you might have to consider across three of the largest and most well-established industries: fashion and apparel; beauty and cosmetics; and food and beverage.


Fashion and apparel

In the fashion industry, product development usually begins the old-school way: with a hand-drawn sketch or the digital equivalent made using a program like Procreate.


Rather than make the product, some fashion and apparel businesses choose print on demand to produce their clothing in the beginning. Print-on-demand allows you to upload designs to a third-party app that connects your store with a warehouse and screen-printing facility. When an order is placed online, your design is printed on an existing stock of t-shirts, sweaters and various other items on offer, creating a finished product without the need to design the entire garment.

Other factors to consider:

  • Hang tags. The branded tags that hang from a garment and usually contain information like price, size, etc.
  • Labels. The fabric tags sewed or stamped into a garment that usually contain information about fabric contents and care instructions.
  • Wash tests. Putting your product through wash tests to understand whether it holds up over time and how it should be cared for.

Beauty and cosmetics

The beauty and cosmetics industry includes a wide range of products that is constantly expanding, due to wellness and self-care trends. From makeup to bath products to skincare, many beauty brands are focusing on all-natural ingredients and sustainability, which makes it easier to prototype a product on your own using everyday ingredients.


Other factors to consider:

  • Labels and warnings. Identify all materials used in the product and any potential reactions.
  • Laws and regulations. Research FDA regulations and how they pertain to your product and packaging, both where they are produced and where you intend to sell them.
  • Shelf life. Conduct tests and add necessary expiration dates to products.

Food and beverage




Other factors to consider:

  • Labels and warnings. You will need to display ingredient lists and nutritional information.
  • Laws and regulations. Many countries have regulations around dietary information, allergen warnings, and health claims that you will need to comply with.
  • Expiry dates. You will need to understand your product lifetime and how you will produce, package, and stock the product to accommodate this.

What will you bring to the market?



No matter what you’re developing, by putting in all the necessary preparation—through researching, planning, prototyping, sourcing, and costing—you can set yourself up for a successful final product.

Illustration by Pete Ryan

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