Have you ever been given something that you never asked for? Whether the occasion is a birthday, a graduation, or Festivus, I’d bet that you personally have received something undesirable, and to up the ante a little bit, I’d bet that in reading my first sentence you thought about one specific gift in particular. Let me say now that if you can’t think of something the recipient specifically wants, perhaps consider giving a gift card?

We all know that distant family relatives are guilty of this unfortunate crime, but have you ever noticed that sometimes companies do that in a way, too? Every once in a while, well-known brands and companies produce something that makes you wonder how said product made it out of the think tank. My inspiration for today’s post on unnecessary products comes from the introduction of Doritos specifically for ladies.

Weird, right? Unfortunately, there is more than one of these unwanted, unnecessary products out there.

Lady Doritos

While it honestly seems like a joke, the idea of chips geared toward women is not that far from reality. According to an interview with Freakonomics Radio, women may soon have the opportunity to carry a less messy chip in their purse. Was that a problem purse-users had? I’m not sure, but apparently, Doritos was trying to solve it! Unfortunately, it seems that PepsiCo might be trying to backtrack a little bit now.

Instead of thinking of ways to reinvent a smaller wheel for women, maybe think about making something generally better for all people!

Segway

I know that it might feel like you’re living in the future by riding on one of these bad boys, but let me tell you that there is not much innovation behind the creation of the Segway. The product itself does not really solve any problems other than laziness, and ultimately, it is simply too expensive for the masses (original price: $5000!). Additionally, the owner of Segway fell to his death off a cliff in 2010 while riding one.

Does the future need people zipping around on glorified scooters? Outlook doubtful.

Uni-Task Kitchen Tools

One of the things that I love most in life is convenience. If you asked my closest friends about things that I love most, I can guarantee at least one would list convenience pretty close to the top. Unfortunately, just because things can be more convenient doesn’t mean that that is the best or even most convenient way! For that reason, I give you: kitchen-related unitaskers. Sure, a Mac and Cheese cooking device sounds great, but does it really make life easier? Maybe not. Do you need a device just to make breakfast sandwiches? You can decide that for yourself.

When deciding whether or not you could do something, did you ever stop to consider if you should?

Ultimately, there are so many great ideas out there, and I’m sure you have some great ones yourself! Some are going to be duds, and that’s okay. If you need someone to tell you whether your idea for a product is a no or go, just let me know!

And sometimes, even great ideas fail because there wasn’t a solid plan to support the launch. Don’t let that happen to you.