Product Innovator — Help Us Build a Hero Product (Low-Tox Dining & Wellness)

Project Type
Fixed-price milestones or hourly — open to either. One-off project with strong potential for ongoing work if it goes well.
Summary
A growing Australian low-tox consumer goods brand (kids' dining / wellness-dining category, currently working in stainless steel + food-grade silicone) is looking for an experienced product developer or industrial designer to help us create a genuine hero product — something that doesn't exist in the market yet, built around real low-toxicity and function, not just colour and packaging.

We don't have the specific concept locked in yet. We're looking for a partner who can help us find it — through a proper ideation process — and then take the strongest idea all the way to a working, testable prototype.

Full brand and category details are shared only after signing an NDA — this listing is intentionally general to protect an unfiled concept ahead of a planned patent filing. Please don't ask for specifics before the NDA step.
Scope of Work
Get up to speed on our brand, existing range and materials system (shared after NDA)
Run an ideation phase: propose several genuinely novel, low-tox product or mechanism concepts that could become a category-defining hero product — not incremental colour or shape tweaks
Assess each concept for feasibility, manufacturability, and genuine low-tox material compatibility (food-grade stainless steel + silicone, or other verified low-tox materials if the concept calls for it)
Work with us to select the strongest concept to take forward
Produce CAD models (SolidWorks or Fusion 360 preferred) of the selected concept
Recommend food-safe materials, finishes and tolerances suited to mass production
Produce 2–3 iterations of a working, testable prototype (3D-printed or machined)
Provide a design-for-manufacture (DFM) writeup flagging anything costly or risky for tooling and mass production
Be available for regular short video calls for feedback throughout
Deliverables
A short concept deck (multiple directions) with a feasibility note on each, before one is chosen
CAD files + STEP/STL exports of the selected concept
Physical prototype unit(s), shipped to us for testing
One-page DFM summary with recommended next steps for tooling
Material and compliance guidance specific to a children's/wellness low-tox product
Ideal Skills & Experience
Strong conceptual/ideation ability — genuinely comfortable inventing from a broad brief, not just executing a fixed spec
Track record designing physical consumer products from concept through to prototype (bonus if it's functional/mechanical, not just cosmetic)
Deep familiarity with low-tox, food-safe, non-toxic materials and manufacturing (stainless steel, food-grade silicone, and credible alternatives)
Portfolio that includes a category-defining or "hero" product, ideally in dining, feeding, wellness, or a comparable consumer category
Comfortable working with ambiguity and shaping the brief collaboratively rather than just filling in blanks
Based anywhere; responsive across a normal business-hours overlap with Australia (AEST)
Requirements Before Full Brief Is Shared
Sign a mutual NDA (we can supply, or use your own if it's straightforward)
Confirm you can commit to confidentiality even if you don't win the project — this is an early-stage, unfiled concept
Budget & Timeline
Indicative budget: [insert your range — projects that include ideation typically run higher than execution-only briefs]
Target timeline: initial concept directions within 2–3 weeks of NDA + brief, working prototype within 8–10 weeks
How to Apply
Please respond with:

Two or three past projects that involved inventing (not just executing) a product or mechanism — ideally something that became a genuine category "hero" or bestseller
Your usual process for taking a brand from "we don't know what we want yet" to a concrete, buildable concept
Your familiarity with low-tox / food-safe materials specifically
Availability over the next 8–10 weeks
Confirmation you're willing to sign an NDA before receiving full project details

Note: this brief is written generically on purpose to protect any concept that emerges from this process ahead of a planned patent application — thank you for your understanding.