The Garlic Press, Issue 08 - mouse jiggler, sleep bonnet, gut cleanse
and more...
Hola amigos,
This week I changed the newsletter domain to www.thegarlic.press. Substack assures me that everything should keep running smoothly and my emails will not end up in your spam folders. Fingers crossed!
Now lets take a look at what we have today.
1. Mouse jiggler
A mouse jiggler is a device with one simple purpose - it constantly moves your mouse and simulates activity on your computer.
There are many reasons why somebody might want a mouse jiggler. Sometimes, people want their messenger status to stay green to fool their boss. Sometimes, companies install software that checks if employees are working and not sipping piña coladas in the backyard, by monitoring computer activity such as mouse movements.
But sipping piña coladas is exactly what most people want to do. One Amazon listing openly invites everybody to daydream more and work less:
And after Covid this trend is only getting bigger, both on Google:
And Amazon:
This product is also trending on Tiktok, under such hashtags as #wfhhacks and #mousejiggler.
There are quite a few competitors on Amazon, but there are many different jigglers. Some move the cursor, some physically move the mouse, some are programmable to perform certain tasks at certain intervals.
I like this niche. Even if companies start to catch up on this and detect current jigglers this will only mean that more advanced mouse jigglers will become popular. Which means new product opportunities for you as a seller.
More data:
Top search term: mouse jiggler
Last month Brand Analytics search frequency rank: 6,054
Search volume growth past 360 days: 190%
Average sale price: $22.27
Number of competing brands: 17
Top 3 Brand Analytics products click share: 44%
2. Permanent jewelry
In two words, permanent jewelry is jewelry without a clasp. Usually this means bracelets.
You take a piece of gold chain and WELD two ends together. The idea is to do this together with your best friend or a loved one, and to never take the bracelet off again, so that it always reminds you of each other.
Unless, of course, you have to do an MRI scan, in which case you do have to take it off, but this doesn’t seem to bother anyone. On Google, interest in permanent jewelry is shooting through the roof:
On Amazon, there is no spike, which is understandable. “Permanent jewelry” is not something that people get online since this involves welding.
One thing that you can do is look at Amazon autocomplete, to see if there are other products in this rapidly growing niche:
One example is “permanent jewelry welder kit”. At the time of this writing, there is zero competition. There are of course welder kits, but no one is targeting customers looking specifically for permanent jewelry welder kits.
It is hard to estimate how big the niche is, and how long the trend will last, but right now there is definitely some demand and it is going up.
More data:
Top search term: permanent jewelry welder kit
Last month Brand Analytics search frequency rank: 319,141
Search volume growth past 360 days: n/a
Average sale price: n/a
Number of competing brands: 0
3. Montessori toys
Montessori is a well-known educational system for kids, it’s basic idea is to help develop natural interests and talents instead of using traditional teaching methods.
Montessori approach also means specific toys. The main point of montessori toys is to help kids learn about the world by themselves, at their own pace, exploring such concepts as color, material and shape.
Montessori system has been around for a while, this is not a new trend. However, the interest in “montessori toys” is going up:
This trend looks even better if we zoom Google Trends out and look at the last 18 years:
As for Amazon, 2021 was much better than 2020, and it is too early to analyse 2022 as the best time for toys’ sales is always Q4.
The best thing about this niche is that it is very broad. “Montessori toys” can mean different things to different people, and it will be easy to launch a unique product that no one is selling.
Also, top-3 products get just 14% of clicks, which means that there are no established market leaders. This means better chances of success for new product launches.
More data:
Top search term: montessori toys for 1 year old
Last month Brand Analytics search frequency rank: 3,470
Search volume growth past 360 days: 57%
Average sale price: $28.33
Number of competing brands: 123
Top 3 Brand Analytics products click share: 14%
4. Sleep bonnet
There are fashion trends that I hope my wife never follows, and sleep bonnet is on this list, somewhere between crocs and armpit hair. In my world, you only buy a sleep bonnet if you plan to never have sex again.
At the same time, a recent article in Elle magazine claims that “sleep bonnets are as essential as oxygen. It helps extend the life of hairstyles, prevent frizz, and retain moisture while you get your Zzzz in. Sleeping without one can dry your hair out, cause breakage, and disrupt your style.”
Google Trends data tells us that sleep bonnets are becoming increasingly popular:
On Amazon, things are looking good too, year 2022 is the best ever.
There is quite a lot of competition, but the niche is new, and this is a fashion item, which makes coming up with a unique product easier.
More data:
Top search term: sleep bonnet
Last month Brand Analytics search frequency rank: 84,604
Average sale price: $14
Top 3 Brand Analytics products click share: 23%
5. Gut cleanse
This is an example of a false trend that looks good on the first glance.
Gut cleanse in the supplements world basically means fiber, in capsules or in powder form. Some brands also add probiotics, vitamins and other stuff, but the basic idea is this - you consume fiber and it helps you remove toxins from your gut.
In the past five years, interest in “gut cleanse” on Google has been increasing, with 2022 being the best year:
On Amazon, there is a similar picture.
So things are looking pretty good, right?
Well, no.
First warning sign is that Brand Analytics search frequency rank is too high, 105,590. This is not a popular search term.
Second warning sign is that the top 3 products’ click share is too high, 51%. This is an established niche with strong leaders, it will be hard to compete with them. And they get lots of sales, which is weird considering that the search term is not popular. Is there maybe another search term that people use for this product?
There is, and it is much more popular: colon cleanse:
And this makes it a completely different story. The search term is not new, the niche is mature, with well-known brands at the top. Not quite what we are looking for.
More data:
Top search term: gut cleanse
Last month Brand Analytics search frequency rank: 105,590
Search volume growth past 360 days: 16%
Average sale price: $20.27
Top 3 Brand Analytics products click share: 51%
This is it for this week. As usual, let me know which oportunity you liked more:
P.S.: Last week’s Oscars won, surprisingly, by wagon stroller. Not the easiest of opportunities.
P.P.S.: I am going on holidays next week (Ibiza, thanks for asking), and the plan there is to get shitfaced, which means less work being done. So the next newsletter will come out the week after, August 16th.