At SafeWhite, I managed the production of the first batch of teeth whitening kits that would be delivered to customers. I executed the selection, drafting/approval, prototyping and production for sale of each of the components in the kit, including:

• User Instruction manual/documentation
• Custom box inserts
• Custom form-fill-seal single use packaging
• Custom injection molded single use packaging (in collaboration with manufacturing firm)
• Specialty Applicator brushes

I worked with industrial designers, engineering firms, packaging manufacturers and  prototyping firm ProtoLabs to create a low volume (100 kits) first batch of product for user testing and manufacturing/filling optimization.

Challenges: 1) Due to the single-use nature of the product, small volumes and dose sizes were needed. I had to debrief and screen dozens of vendors and potential partners to determine if they could manufacture and/or fill to our specs and at our limited initial  unit numbers. 2) We faced issues with a living hinge type feature being too stiff as a result of the initial mold being aluminum rather than steel – changing to a more flexible resin material allowed us to get the properties needed for testing without needing costly mold modifications.