It started pretty much as a joke.
While on vacation in Italy my wife pointed out this sign and commented: "Bet you didn't know centrifuges come in fruity flavors"
We shared a laugh, took a picture and continued our walk through the narrow Venice streets.
Later that evening as I tried falling asleep in our steamy apartment my mind hovered on the business I had left behind for this trip, and how I might use this vacation to come back with fresh ideas and inspiration.
Stellar Scientific has always been driven by a vision that goes beyond selling laboratory equipment and lab supplies.
When you support finding the cure for cancer, novel immunotherapies and cutting edge discoveries in personalized genomic medicine, you can't be satisfied with being focused on the small stuff like disposable lab plastics, incubators and real-time PCR.
We see Stellar Scientific as a vital cog in the wheel for turning ideas into wellness.
Having a daughter become a nutritionist helped raise our family's awareness about the importance of including fresh fruits and vegetables in our diet.
This in turn made us sensitive to a steady stream of news reports focused on the public-heath crisis of obesity in financially disadvantaged neighborhoods where fast-food is cheap and far more accessible than fresh food.
As all this tumbled around in my head the connection became obvious.
We can turn centrifuges into fruit, both figuratively and (somewhat) literally!
Why not take one of our best-selling mini centrifuges and give them a new identity to raise awareness about the importance of healthy eating habits?
Better still, lets make this campaign about more than just thinking healthy, lets reward our shoppers with a donation in their honor each time they purchase one of these bench-top mini centrifuges.
As soon as we were settled back in Baltimore, a flurry of activity ensued. Our marketing team got to work on a new name and logo design and we reached out to potential partners to convert money collected into action.
With all the pieces in place, we are excited to share this new health-focused campaign.
Introducing the FruitFuge™.
Available in these five delicious and health-inspired "flavors".
Pomegranate, Avocado, Plum, Blueberry and Coconut.
Each time a FruitFuge™ is purchased, we will donate between $10-20 (depending on which platform the purchase is made) to help provide healthy food choices to Maryland residents.
We are grateful for our new partner growingSOUL of Silver Spring, MD who will be putting these funds to good work.
According to their data, $20 purchases about fourteen pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables, enough to provide healthy meals for two families of four.
Please make time to learn about what they are doing for Maryland. If it can be done here, it can be done everywhere.
You can make shopping for lab supplies about price, or you can turn it into a personal mission statement.