By Paula Roeske, PRK Products
Years ago, my pantry was my enemy. I am an “A” type personality and I simply wanted (o.k. needed) to see all the baby food jars neatly stacked and organized in my cabinet. One day, upon opening the cabinet, having stacked the jars too high, one fell producing my son’s first trip to the emergency room with broken toes. From this terrible experience an idea was born.
I started to sketch a product that I thought could create a safe, convenient and organized way to store baby food. Towering jars inside the cabinet was not the answer and no one else needed to learn that the hard way. Yet, the concept for this fantastic new product sat in my desk as life took priority and triplets joined our lives.
However, caring for the triplets sparked another great idea for me. With three babies, I desperately needed help in organizing their food and drinks. The kitchen counter and cabinets were overflowing with tops, bottles and nipples. When we graduated to sippy cups it only got worse. There had to be something to help me organize all their stuff . . . Again, I started drawing and designing a product that I thought could effectively accomplish those things for moms experiencing the same problem.
Even though I was busy raising four children, I never gave up the idea and eight years later I was able to begin the process of making PRK Products, Inc. a reality. Granted in the early days (2009), the dream of seeing my products on store shelves was often more like a nightmare. Please heed my warning, do your homework before you get a patent, before you name your products, before you create a logo and absolutely before you get in business with a manufacturer. I learned the hard way that not every manufacturer is created equal.
Even after initial struggles to get my company off the ground, I knew my products had potential, I knew they filled a need for parents everywhere and so I continued on. After three years, I finally launched PRK Products in April, 2012 and today The Universal Baby Bottle & Sippy Cup Organizer and the Universal Baby Food Jar Organizer can be found on store shelves and online at www.prkproductsinc.com. I am thrilled to see my dream become a reality as sales continue to rise and PRK Products become available at more and more locations.
It has been a long traveled road with many mistakes and disappointments but when I receive positive reviews of my products from moms, it is all worth the effort. Through all this, I am able to start taking pride in my products and I am most proud to say that PRK Products Inc. is an American company with all packaging, manufacturing and dome labels made in the USA.
I do not think of myself as an inventor or CEO and President of PRK Products Inc. I think of myself primarily as a mom that decided it was time to bring my product ideas to life and make the lives of other moms a little easier. My children, Kyle (14), Madison (9), Kaley (9) and Bradley (9), get to see their mom everyday making the most of her life and not sacrificing being first and foremost their mom.