For Immediate Release
New York, NY. – Pistachios LLC, the world leading producer of pistachio novelties, is proud to announce the latest innovation for pistachio enthusiasts. “We believe this will literally change the entire landscape of the nut snacking industry,” says Josh Mahoney, Marketing Director at Pistachios, “every flavor combination already exists… the industry is ripe for the next major disruption!”

Pistachios LLC’s largest sellers have always been whole bulk products, followed by their products famous for Roasted BBQ, Spicy Parmesan, and Salt & Vinegar flavors.

“It was our wild success in selling a variety of raw and lightly roasted nuts that made us nuts to innovate in this non-flavored category again,” says Mahoney.

Adding to their best-selling shell-on, shelled, and raw products, Pistachios LLC is pleased to release “Shells Only” Pistachios.

Dig into a bulk-sized bag of just shells. We promise you’ve never had pistachios like this before!

Doing something no one has done is a pure obsession for some. But it is isn’t enough to do something no one else has done on its own.

When innovation grows from market-driven innovation, this is a great pursuit, but it should be secondary to the problem you are trying to solve. 

My fake pistachio press release is a great example; no one who loves to snack on Wonderful’s addicting Chili pistachios wants to sit down to a bag of shells only pistachios. It isn’t good enough to do something that has never been done – there has to be a need or want for it. That is why it makes sense to start with a problem to solve and produce something valuable to solve that problem. If you simply pick a category of product or service you are interested in and try to do something that has never been done, you may end up selling “Only Shells” pistachios to no one. 

Exploring New Audiences

Now, if you are like me, you may have thought something along these lines, “well, of course snackers don’t want shells only, but surely there is someone who can use the shells for something.” And you would be right! Here is an article with several great ideas for using pistachio shells in your garden: RuralSprout.com. 

So Pistachios LLC might not have a market for snackers with their innovation. Still, organic gardeners might be a fitting audience – and they can make additional money from the shells of the shelled pistachios they already sell. I would do a step further, maybe releasing the idea of pistachio shells for gardens as a joke snack innovation (like my fake press release above) would be a good marketing hook to educate pistachio loyalists who are also gardeners – but I digress. 

So what’s the point:

• Don’t worry about having a purely original idea for the sake of doing something no one else has done. Start with the problem you are trying to solve!
• If you think of an idea, don’t write it off until you have explored all potential audiences for it. Hint: it may be a left turn in thinking.
• Work on possible hooks to get customers’ attention – don’t write off humor, sarcasm, and silliness when trying to reach new audiences or educate current markets.