Why I Started Consmr

If you’re following this blog, you probably know my background. I spent the last few years pushing forward in the mobile and social worlds. Whether it was building partnerships with Foursquare and Foodspotting, or trying to bridge the gap between the print and mobile world with the iPhone and iPad, I always believed in solving problems through technology and social media.

Since 2008 I think everyone has become more conscious about what they spend their money on. It started big (maybe I don’t need that new 1080p TV) and eventually started to creep into how informed my everyday decisions were, like making sure I spend my money on the best solution that’s out there. The Wall Street Journal and Google show statistics that support this progression. I watched my friends lose their jobs during the recession. As a result I became much more cost conscious and started to figure out ways to keep my spending down.

One day I went to the local Duane Reade (a Manhattan drug store chain akin to CVS/Walgreens) and bought a vanilla flavored mouthwash. It was on sale, it had enticing marketing on it, and in my mind it seemed to be a sensible purchase. I then discovered that vanilla doesn’t belong in anything other than ice cream and *maybe* a really good recipe for sweet potatoes. It was gross, I questioned the effectiveness of the product, and now not only was my money wasted on it but I had to spend a second time to replace it.

Living in New York City you don’t have a lot of free time, so I often relied on frozen foods to save me from cooking and cleaning. Every time I tried something new, it would be a game of roulette. Some things were great like a pricey but amazing frozen chicken cheesesteak, and some were awful like a frozen chicken taco that in retrospect I should have realized was too good to be true.

Enter Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods into the NYC grocery scene. Suddenly there are thousands of products that I have no idea if they’re any good or not. I don’t know the Trader Joe’s brands, and Whole Foods has introduced me to tons of organic products that I’ve never heard of before – both food products and healthcare products.

I recently watched someone buy a $14 bottle of lotion at Duane Reade. I asked the woman about it because that’s not an insignificant amount of money for an everyday product. It turns out, that’s how much you pay for the “nice” brand lotion. There were alternatives… some cheaper… but after trying a subpar one before she’s sticking to the expensive one. Trial and error are still a big part of the purchasing of grocery and drugstore products. How can we help her find that cheaper but still effective lotion that won’t make her skin oily?

When I wanted to see X-Men: First Class, I went to Rotten Tomatoes and saw 85% of people liked it. I’m sold. I went. I thought it was great. When I wanted to find a good hardware store in my neighborhood, I used Yelp. I found something that was 4 out 5 stars. The guy behind the counter was courteous, helpful, and had me out of there in 5 minutes.

When I wanted to find a good face wash, or look up if these frozen organic turkey burgers are any good, there’s wasn’t a one-stop shop. There’s fragmented info out there, and a few hidden gems in the forms of blogs or a top product list. But it’s not in a searchable, sortable, comparable form in one place. And I like to hear the voice of the people. I would want to know the majority of people tried this product and either liked it or found it effective.

I rented Despicable Me because a friend told me it was cute and I’d like it. Discovery and suggestions from friends are always impactful. So I asked myself how do I get my friends to share the products they like with me? Or how about sharing them with their broader social networks? They’re sharing what bar they’re grabbing a drink in on Foursquare and sharing what shows they’re watching via Get Glue… can we get them to “Check In” and share the products they’re using?

I set out to build a resource that would help with all of this. To help people rate, share, and discover everyday products. That everyday stuff… they’re called consumer packaged goods or CPG for short. There are 50,000 of them at your supermarket and drug store. I want the world’s opinion on all of them.

www.consmr.com

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