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Around the same time that Trevor left his job, he and his wife began road cycling. The two found themselves eating an abundance of bananas, a popular snack with cyclists as they’re high in carbohydrates and potassium, two key components to keeping cycling muscles in tip-top shape. As they continued to enjoy the activity, and the bananas kept coming, Trevor’s wife set him on a mission to get the bananas off her counter and out of the way.
The next time he was in the grocery store a chrome bowl, with the classic banana hook on it, caught his eye. Knowing he didn’t need the bowl, he figured he could affix a similar hook onto his kitchen cabinets with some parts he could pick up at the hardware store he passes on his way home.
Upon arriving home Trevor realized he had forgotten to stop at the hardware store, so he began looking around his house for suitable components. He spotted the plastic bags on his counter from his groceries, which were approximately the same length as the chain he had planned to buy. He took the handle of a plastic bag and looped it through the weave of his pot rack, tying a knot at the end of the bag. He did this a few times and then slid the bananas through the plastic bags letting the top of the bunch catch on the knots, suspending the bananas effectively.
He took a picture of the contraption and sent it to his wife with the caption, “Problem solved”.
Later that same week, Trevor still hadn’t made it to the hardware store, but he knew he could do better, so he went to find some old bungee cord he had in the garage. He cut one end of the bungee cord off and then hung it from the pot rack with a knot on the end to anchor the bananas, a design similar to the plastic bags but better streamlined.
He took a second picture to send to his wife, this time with the caption, ‘It’s getting better”.
With this model, Trevor realized how much better bungee cord suited his vision and design, rather than chain. From this moment on, bungee cord became an integral, irreplaceable part of his product. The combination of bungee cord and beads (instead of knots) allowed a hand of bananas to effectively be suspended and eliminated all of the factors that usually quicken the process of bananas going bad. Once loaded, you no longer had to handle the entire bunch to remove a single banana, you eliminated surface contact while keeping them away from any other fruit that might be releasing ethylene as they ripened. With Trevor’s invention, you might finally be able to eat an entire bunch of bananas without any going bad. Named based on its core function, the Banana Bungee was born!
Pleased with his design, Trevor decided to do some research to see if anything like his model already existed. When he discovered there were only two other banana-oriented products– very different from his– he decided to take his model to market.
In the process of bringing the Banana Bungee to market, Trevor originally found a different rope manufacturer that offered bungee as well. He used this company’s cord to make his test models– but just when he was getting ready to launch his product, the company discontinued the bungee cord in the quantity he needed.
When he tried to get in contact with the company to see if he could work something out, they wouldn’t answer any of his calls or emails. Discovering that he couldn’t rely on this manufacturer, and knowing that finding a reliable source of bungee was crucial for his product, he began his search for alternatives.
At the Houston Home & Garden show, a show Trevor and his wife attended to determine if they should consider selling the Banana Bungee there in the future, Trevor spotted a vendor with a product that also utilized bungee. He asked them who their bungee manufacturer was, and low and behold, it was Quality Nylon Rope!
Trevor says he was drawn to the product he saw at the Houston Home & Garden show because of the quality of the bungee cord– it had exactly the look and feel he was imagining for his product.
It was important to Trevor that his product is manufactured entirely with parts made in the USA. The Banana Bungee is comprised of bungee, hardware, and a few other components. The short parts list made possible for him to take his time to find USA sourced manufacturers for his product. When he discovered that Quality Nylon Rope was also a domestic product, he was sold.
He reached out to QNR, ordered some samples, and tested the order and reorder process. Through his experience with QNR, Trevor says the quality has always been reliably great, and that shipping is always quick. With QNR, Trevor never feels likes he has to worry about his supply running out, or finding his bungeeon back order.
It took Trevor Chargois exactly one year to come up with the idea for Banana Bungee, design it, test it, create the final concept, and bring it to market. He introduced it on his own website first, then moved it to Amazon, and now has it placed in a couple of local grocery and gift stores as well. He just applied for his EU number to bring his product to market on Amazon in the UK, and Trevor has had repeat sales in every state across the US, and along the border of Canada.
QNR partners with manufacturers like Banana Bungee to help achieve their production requirements with off-the-shelf and custom products. If you’re looking for a solution for your prototype or manufacturing needs, we’d love to help find the right fit for you– or make something custom to suit your needs. Not sold? We also offer samples so you can judge the quality of our products for yourself.
