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Clink-N-Drink Ready to Hit the Ground Running
July 9, 2009
Doug Haynes admits that his background is about as far from the licensed sports and tailgating industries as you can get. Haynes has worked construction since he was a teenager. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t see big things on the horizon for the Clink-N-Drink, a product he invented in the comfort of his own home.
“I was holding my one-year-old daughter in one hand and trying to figure out how to open a beer with the other,” Haynes recalls. “I looked at the magnetic tool tray on my refrigerator, and the idea came to me.”
Haynes called his patent attorney the next day and began work on the product, which came to be known as the Clink-N-Drink. “It’s the world’s best bottle opener and cap catcher,” he says. “The Clink-N-Drink attaches to any magnetic surface, including cars, RVs, and trucks. You can also mount it in convenient places with a couple of screws.”
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Haynes thinks the Clink-N-Drink is perfect for tailgating, camping and cookouts. He often uses it in his home. Of the first 1,500 that he produced, everyone sold out. Now, Haynes believes, the key to sales is licensing.
“I’d like to find a partner that already has a licensing deal in place,” he says. His goal is to have licensed product in hand when he arrives in Las Vegas next January for the Sports Licensing & Tailgate Show. That’s when he plans to debut the Clink-N-Drink on the national stage.
The other key for Haynes is teaming up with a distributor. “That’s very important,” he says. “I need to get the product out there.”
For someone used to building things from the ground up, Haynes is eager to learn all he can about licensed sports and tailgating landscape. “I know the Clink-N-Drink has wide appeal,” he says. “It goes from your kitchen and garage to a campsite, game or concert. It’s a no-brainer for sports fans. I can handle research and development. I’m hoping to find partners who can help me the rest of the way.”
