For many mompreneurs, having their product picked up by a major chain is a sign of accomplishment. It validates all of the hard work and time spent to build their inventions reports the Los Angeles Times.
Excitedly snapping pictures of herself and her daughter next to a rack in the Babies R Us store in Temecula, Stephanie Veve ignored the raised eyebrows of passing customers.
She was celebrating: On display were her Pop Pals, an invention she thought up one summer day in 2006 to hold the dripping ice-pop frozen treats her three kids loved.
The Pop Pals journey from Veve’s kitchen table to big-box retailer was challenging and expensive for the 39-year-old former massage therapist. It was also the realization of a dream shared by other mom entrepreneurs who aspire to have their inventions carried by a major merchant.
“To actually walk into a store and buy your product made it all very real and exciting,” she said. Not every new product is a fit for major retailers. But for many mom inventors, having an invention picked up by a national chain validates the hard work and sacrifices they make to juggle child-raising with creating a product.
Photo from Pop Pals