Behind every product on our catalog, there is a person and story! As we close off this decade, we want to recap 2019 by sharing some of the stories of teamwork that helped create some of the best products of the year!
Bigger is Sometimes Better
At BCP, it has been our mission to develop a variety of air fryer ovens that you, our customers, could enjoy. You’ve made it clear we’re on the right track, but the wasn’t enough for our Home product developer, who wanted to create an air fryer that would be able to cook portions big enough to feed a whole family. So, the team set out to develop the 16.9 Qt. Air Fryer Oven. “We really wanted to make this the only cooking kitchen appliance you would ever need, so you can condense your countertop. To achieve this, we had to work with vendors and engineers to find the right elements to achieve maximum performance. It was hard work, but the result nailed it!” The finished product includes wire racks, basket, skewer racks and shaft, rotisserie forks, rotating basket, 1 drip pan, oven mitt, and tongs. She loved all the versatile cooking options customers get in just one kitchen appliance!
Putting a Spin on Holiday Traditions
Who doesn’t love tradition? Especially when it comes to the holidays. But sometimes, adding a little spice to tradition is the perfect combination of old and modern. That’s why this year, our Seasonal developer focused on putting trendy spins on holiday decorations. One of our favorites is the wrought iron Ornament Display Christmas Tree. She really wanted to make this tree as easy to assemble as possible. But this was the biggest challenge because the hooks would get tangled and caught. After trying different design methods, Marina and her team finally got the tree to where it is now; customers can open the box, stack the sections, lower the hinges, and the tree is done setting up. This tree is one of the easiest assembly designs on the market and we’re very proud of that!
In an effort to give our customers a fun twist on tradition, our developer also worked on combining Christmas with Halloween and achieved our most popular Halloween decoration thus far, the Halloween Ceramic Tabletop Tree. Ceramic Trees have been a beloved BCP Christmas decoration, but a Halloween variation hasn’t been done before. “There were a lot of design questions with this tree,” she says, “Such as, should I put a star on top? What light bulb style would fit this tree? How should the base be designed? I got a lot of feedback from my fellow BCP colleagues at the office on what designs they liked and disliked, and it became a team effort. Once I saw the finished product, I knew the design we came up with was perfect!”
Making Long Distance [Pet] Relationship More Bearable
Although you love having pets, sometimes a busy lifestyle gets in the way of being able to be there to take care of them throughout the day. That’s why our Pet Supplies developer created the Automatic Pet Feeder! “It was hard to figure out how to incorporate all the features on this one product, like the 2-way microphone, the wide-angle camera, and the smartphone application,” she says. “We worked with many departments to work out all the kinks. But once it was done, it was so rewarding to see the vision for this feeder come to life!”
Another one of her favorite pet supplies that launched in 2019 simplifies pet care – the Cat Litter Box Furniture. Our mission in the development of our pet products is to cater to you and your favorite animal simultaneously. This led us to bring in this furniture piece that lets cats use their litter box in the hideout area, while owners use the furniture as a side table or storage bench. And it’s got a wide magazine rack on the side, so you can get maximum functionality out of just one stylish furniture piece.
Learning a New Instrument Has Never Been Easier
Our Musical Instruments developer remembers what it was like to try and learn a new instrument. That’s why he creates instruments that make it as easy as possible to learn. One of his favorite instruments this year was the 61-Key Beginners Keyboard. “We’ve been trying to incorporate LCD screens to our keyboards for a while now. And with this model, we were finally able to create that. It gives beginners an added visual element to the built-in teaching modes, which makes learning more fun!” This keyboard also has some of the most popular features form our other models, and with the added screen this is a very ideal keyboard to learn to play on.
The Sapele Ukulele Starter Kit was also one of his big achievements this year. “We made this ukulele of Sapele wood, which creates a high quality warm, crisp sound. I am so happy that we were able to create it to be sold at such an affordable price. You usually don’t find that in the market!” He developed the ukulele to include everything inside the kit, like a gig bag, tuner, and strap, so that customers don’t have to go out and buy accessories – once again, making this an ideal situation for beginners.
This year we’ve built upon old ideas, combined tradition and trend, and even came up with completely new concepts. As the year ends, we want to thank our product developers for putting in the hard work to create products that make life a lot simpler!