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UKCA Marking – What you need to know

Britain’s exit from the European Union is affecting how people in the UK have to run their businesses. Some businesses have been greatly affected whilst others remain largely unchanged. Within the sphere of new product design there are some changes required, for now the new requirements are not far reaching and should be easy for most businesses to comply with. Part of these new requirements is UKCA marking.

The UKCA mark applies to most goods that previously required a CE mark. Currently technical requirements for the standards remain the same. For example, products are still subject to GPSR and, as before operate on the understanding that any product must be safe for intended use. If there is legislation specific to the type of product then this should take president. For example, both Toys and Electrical Equipment still have their own standard. These were previously referred to as “harmonised standards” from the EU but are now termed as “designated standards” and are published by the UK government.

UKCA marking came into effect on 1 January 2021. However, to allow businesses time to adjust to the new requirements, businesses will still be able to use the CE marking until 1st January 2022 in most cases. At the start of 2022 the UKCA marking must be present at least as a label affixed to the product or an accompanying document. And then from 1st Jan 2023 UKCA marking must be permanently attached to the product.

This does not apply to existing stock, for example if your goods were fully manufactured, CE marked and ready to place on the market before 1 January 2021. In these cases, your goods can still be sold in Britain with a CE marking.

There are however some cases when businesses need to apply the new UKCA marking to goods being sold in Great Britain immediately from 1 January 2021. When asked for clarification on which goods have this requirement the government Goods Regulation Team advised the following:

“You will need to use the new UKCA marking immediately if all the following apply to your product:

• it is for the market in Great Britain
• it is covered by legislation which requires the UKCA marking
• it requires mandatory third-party conformity assessment
• if conformity assessment has been carried out by a UK conformity assessment body and you haven’t transferred your conformity assessment files from your UK body to an EU recognised body before 1 January 2021”

As well as the marking of products there are some changes to third party test house certification, record keeping and declarations of conformity.

Sated Design’s recommendation during this transition period is that it would be best to exercise an early awareness of CE and UKCA for your project. Consult a third-party test house who are established Notified Bodies in both the UK and EU, and who specialise in the particular area of standards, compliance and certification your project requires. This will help make sure the most efficient route to compliance is adhered to.

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Manufacturing Options

The pandemic has shined a bright light on our UK manufacturers and demonstrated not only their innovation and their resilience, but also the skills and ingenuity of the workforces to adapt and overcome. With so much uncertainty in the global economy, many businesses are understandably concerned about mitigating their risks. Those with existing offshore manufacturing and those looking for manufacturers are weighing up the pros and cons of where to manufacture.

It is true that low cost, high volume consumer products can be difficult to manufacture competitively in the UK and on this factor alone many would say it might appear not to be commercially viable for a business to reshore their product manufacturing or to manufacture in the UK. In our experience, so long as the comparisons are like for like and the full picture is considered, the answer is not as black and white as some would suggest.

Here are ten reasons why manufacturing in the UK can benefit a business and counterbalance a lift in the unit price.

1. No language barrier. This facilitates clearer negotiations and ensures words used are ‘interpreted’ correctly. It is quite normal for many offshore companies to employ translators who have no technical training. They are often unable to express the true meaning of emails and drawings to the shop floor. Notes on control drawings are a classic example of critical information which often gets ignored or miss interpreted.

2. Reduction in financial paperwork and no need for currency conversion. Many businesses are concerned about exchange rates and the redefining of what money constitutes. They ask if they should throw their weight behind bitcoins? The dollar? The Euro? Or sterling? Buying domestically largely solves this conundrum.

3. There is immense value in having a team come together around a table or a machine at a moment’s notice to solve problems. Sadly, it is unlikely that international travel will be as convenient as it used to be for a very long time. Getting to almost anywhere in the UK is comparably very easy and very quick. Once local travel restrictions are ended it will be easier and more cost effective to make UK site visits as and when they are needed.

4. International shipping costs are sky-rocketing and problems with landing and forwarding are causing many logistical nightmares.

5. Import and taxation are not easy and the landscape is changing as the UK adapts to post Brexit and other international trade deals.

6. Domestic manufacturing reduces the risks of variable delivery times and partial-shipping can often be resolved with less trauma when the supplier is ‘around the corner’.

7. The UK is arguably one of the most constant and stable nations on earth with a working infrastructure and tolerant population. Political wrangling, global disaster events, civil wars etc have shown how vulnerable many businesses could be to events out of their control.

8. Importantly, and something that is often missed – domestic manufacturing will provide a certain level of protection from intellectual property theft and give confidence in compliance with standards and regulations governing product performance and manufacture. Counterfeit materials, dodgy certification and inferior quality can ruin a business.

9. Can you be certain that the supplier is looking after your best interests? Inspections and sign offs are easier to arrange and verify when parties are local to each other.

10. Let’s not forget the golden rule – you usually get what you pay for.

There are strong arguments for domestic manufacturing and especially for reshoring but we must not forget that many businesses are very successful in manufacturing offshore. They achieve this by nurturing strong, mutually beneficial relationships with proven partners. They get the right balance between cost and volume and marry the right manufacturing partner to their needs.

Sated Design have extensive experience with manufacturing here in the UK and offshore and we think the best way to tackle this question is to approach it with an open mind and look at both options in depth, matching capabilities, understanding cost, weighing up the risks and benefits.

Need help taking your product idea to manufacture? Whatever the budget for tooling, required production quantities and preferred country of manufacture we will work very closely with our clients and manufacturing partners to determine the optimum manufacturing solution to meet the demands of the project. We can help to ensure suppliers meet the quality you expect, both in pre-production trials and once production has started.

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Positive News Please!

Currently you cannot escape the doom and gloom being depicted in our media; and yet in manufacturing we’re seeing a very different picture.

It is true that businesses have challenges but that is not new, business is a challenge all the time and there are always problems. Businesses are used to this and it stimulates their natural response to understand the challenge, innovate solutions and implement strategies that will move them not only past the problem but into success.

If there was ever a good news story, it would be the way our manufacturing industry is rising to the challenge of 2021. If there was ever a time when the nation needed a good new story full of hope for the future now would be the time.

So why doesn’t the news media refocus its attention and give some exposure to those businesses who are doing great things? Surely there is worth in articles featuring the ways in which businesses have managed (and continue to manage) through the pandemic. We feel this could provide not only some great stories but be a way of sharing ideas to support other businesses.

At Sated Design we feel we are a typical example of what’s happening in businesses across the UK. We are supporting those staff who can work from home, we are managing transport to and from home and providing a safe environment for those who remain in the office. We are still here for our clients and our suppliers who rely on us. It’s business as (the new) normal.

Sated’s Director Chris Howsam says “The New Year has brought us new enquiries from established clients and new prospects. It’s clear to us that there’s a desire for many to come out of covid-19 in the starting blocks and ready to go.”

He adds “it is time we celebrated some positive news and where better than a look at our manufacturing industry and the fantastic way they are rising to the challenge of 2021?”

So come on Journalists, Editors, TV Producers… can we see some reporting on the efforts being made by businesses, and in particular our manufacturing industry to secure our economy and make 2021 a better year than it is at the moment”.

If you are about to embark on a new pleasure product development and would like to know more about how we can help you on your journey, contact us today.

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Stay safe. Ask the right questions.

Christmas will soon be here and this year it is shaping up to be a Christmas like no other. With another enforced lockdown in the run up to the festive period, a shopping outing to the high street will not be possible. This means that as consumers we are forced to shop online – but without the security of seeing a product before we buy it, we should be on our guard and exercise caution when making an online purchase.

Organisations like Trading Standards have strained resources and sadly this short-sighted approach often leaves gaps for unsafe and counterfeit products to be freely available. We must be clear on this next point – those products are manufactured and distributed by those who have zero regard for the safety of their end users. Therefore, how can you be safer?

Here are our top tips for being savvy when shopping for electronic products online. We encourage you to consider these before you buy, especially when it comes to electronic devices with mains chargers.

1. Do your research
It is important to have some knowledge about the product before you make a purchase. Read up on brands and product models so you can easily spot when a product listing doesn’t appear to be all it seems. Always read listings carefully and watch for typographical errors.

2. Buy from reputable sellers
Well known retail brands may not always be the cheapest but they will have genuine products for sale and these products will be sold with a warranty. If you do buy products from a reseller, make sure you ask them about their supplier quality assurance processes. Reputable sellers should have authentication procedures in place as well as technicians to inspect the quality of the products they are selling before they are listed.

3. Take notice of the price
It is worth running a price comparison between sites – if the product is too cheap, there will be a reason! Check the advertised price against the Recommended Retail Price (the RRP) and question the products validity if the numbers don’t add up.

4. Look out for the regulatory standards
Every electronic product offered for sale by law must display a CE mark, additional granted approvals marks, manufacturer/importer details sufficient to contact them, a country of manufacture, a product type, batch or serial number and the specifics of any ratings such as voltage and class of use. Mains products must come with a correctly fitted and fused mains plug attached.
If this information is not displayed anywhere on the product, then it will not have been manufactured to legal standards.

5. Review the Packaging
Reputable brands and businesses invest in quality packaging so if you receive an item in ill-fitting or very low cost product packaging then it could be a warning sign. Similarly, there should be information enclosed about the safe operation of the product, warranty and the manufacturers contact details.

We can all stay safer if we take a moment to ask why something appears to be such a bargain.

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Avoiding DIY Patents

The adult toy industry is notorious for unscrupulously copying great ideas. Both securing effective Intellectual Property Protection (IPP) and taking swift and aggressive action to stomp out copy cats are both crucial to maintaining your competitive edge. IPP legally identifies you as the originator and owner of your idea and gives you exclusive rights to exploit it so it is absolutely critical to your business.

There are a number of ways to protect the intellectual property of your idea. It is recommended that you speak to an IPP expert such as a patent attorney at the right time to select the best forms of protection for your product.

There are many free patent databases that you can use to carry out your own searching, but professional patent searchers and patent attorneys who specialise in such services will almost inevitably find documents that are more relevant than those found by a novice searcher.

A DIY patent is not the best approach and can do more harm than good. It is so important to seek expert legal advice!

Here at Sated Design, many of our clients initially reached out to us because we work so closely with a firm of leading Intellectual Property specialists in our network and are therefore familiar with their methods and requirements. We work with these specialists to protect the IP of your sex toy invention idea by providing descriptions of claims and supporting illustrations of any new IP created. In addition to providing you with reassurance, this may also reduce search and filing fees significantly.

Releasing details of your idea into the public domain without protection may jeopardise the chances of your IPP applications being granted, giving your competitors an opportunity to get the idea to market before you. Our top tip is that if you need to discuss your idea with anyone, such as a supplier, use a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) document to ensure that all parties regard the discussions as confidential.

If you’ve got a new pleasure product idea and require assistance taking it to the point of manufacture, we can provide help at any step of the way.

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Innovate UK Smart Grants

For many the coronavirus pandemic is becoming a catalyst for change, whether it be personal or work related. The phrase “new normal” now resonates on a global scale. For the critics, potentially our “new world” means mass unemployment, recession and a crippled economy. As a result of the lockdown many businesses are facing financial challenges as they head into the final quarter of 2020. New Product Development seems to appear way down on the priority list for a lot of companies, however investing now in the early stages of designing a new product will actually help you be ahead of the game once we regain some global stability.

There are financial lifelines available from the Government to encourage and assist you with this in the forms of kickstart grants and (what we focus on in this article) a new round of Innovate UK Smart Grants.

The latest round of Innovate UK Smart Grants, launched last month, closes at 11am on the 25th November and businesses of any size can apply for a slice of £25 million. This open UK grant funding programme has a specific purpose of supporting game changing ideas to develop new products that have significant global market potential. Applications are welcomed for NPD across all sectors including Sextech, where this industry is reportedly worth over $30 billion and estimated to be growing at an annual rate of 30%.

To be in with a chance of winning a grant, the key to your application is to demonstrate you have clearly considered your new product’s innovation, global market potential and the target customer’s needs. This is where utilising a Product Design Consultancy like Sated Design could be the key to your success.

We can assist with a feasibility study which will demonstrate to the judges that you have determined whether your NPD is do-able. We can undertake a risk assessment which will demonstrate that you have considered the end user of the new product. We can also assist you with completing your application for smart funding and if successful, most excitingly, we can help you make your ideas a reality, taking your product idea to the point of manufacture when it becomes a market ready product!

Our services can be tailored to suit your needs – we are well adapted to itemise our service and can step in and out at any stage. In our online portfolio you will find an extensive list of successful pleasure products we have helped bring to market. We have completed many projects over the last decade – some of which have gone on to win coveted industry awards – and our skills, experience and expertise are invaluable.

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Crowdfunding

In last week’s article, we focused on the difficulties of attracting investment if you are a private inventor. As we demonstrated, a certain amount of time, resource and capital has to be undertaken before any investor would even begin to take a pitch from you seriously. As a result of this, many small start-ups are seeking alternative ways to bring a product idea to life.

One new approach that’s been steadily growing in popularity is crowdfunding. Through the emergence of websites like Crowdcube and Seedrs ,crowdfunding is revolutionising the way businesses and projects are being funded, allowing small start-ups to use the power of the internet, social media and engagement to recruit and raise funds through a large number of small investors or lenders.

Nowadays, crowdfunding sites are heavily regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) making them a safer proposition to many new investors who might have been discouraged by the risks in the past. There are also notable tax relief benefits of up to 50% available to investors through Seed Enterprise Investment Schemes (SEIS) and Enterprise Investment Schemes (EIS), making crowdfunding investments very attractive and potentially lucrative. Within crowdfunding itself, there are three models for raising funds which are equity-based, loan based and reward based, allowing a lot of flexibility to the start-up and the investor.

For private inventors, crowdfunding is seemingly a great way of getting traction for your idea and delivering your finished product into the hands of your target market. The flexibility of crowdfunding means that it is possible for private inventors to recruit more than just financial investment in the form of hard cash. For example, some “investors” with design or technology expertise will offer time in kind and lend valuable advice if the inventor was to run in to a hitch involving something such as manufacturing during the product development stage.

However, the golden rule of any New Product Development (NPD) is to protect your idea with intellectual property. With crowdfunding it would be easy to fall foul of the copy cats so the trick is to provide enough information to entice the investors, but not to divulge so much that it puts your product in jeopardy before it’s even entered the marketplace.

Crucial to this is ensuring you have developed a robust intellectual property strategy. You should make sure that you’ve filed all necessary patent, design and/or trademark applications before you go public on a crowdfunding site. It is also crucial that you have worked out your timings, to make sure that you have enough funding to see you through the various stages in intellectual property filings and product development. If you postpone developing an IP strategy, patent protection (for example) is unavailable and you run the risk of losing the rights to your own invention.

You also must know the exact detail and terms of your product offering, even if this means delaying going public until all the details have been ironed out. It is easy to get whipped up in the excitement of the moment but it’s important to keep your feet firmly on the ground. Seeking advice from an IP Attorney and having supporting illustrations for your new product provided by an experience Product Designer will help to secure your legal position.

The expertise of a Pleasure Product Design Consultancy like Sated Design could be a clever move during the early stages of your New Product Development (NPD), however as a full service agency we can step in at any time up to the point of manufacture to assist you on your journey. Contact us today.

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Private Inventor home truths

At some stage or another many of us will have an idea for a new product; a product which we believe will become the next great invention. This is very exciting but it is easy to be swept up in the excitement of being a private inventor and to count those chickens before they hatch.

Over the years we have talked to many private inventors and we always dread the calls from those inventors who have spent their precious resources only to end up with artistic CAD drawings of their product and a big cost milestone in their patent application. Sadly, this type of call often comes at a time when the private inventor has run out of money, out of time to secure investment and now face losing the exclusive rights to their own invention.

How does this happen?

Many private inventors cannot fund the entire process of bringing a product to the market and they require investment. Investment is not easy to secure. There are some companies who offer ‘help’ to private inventors by offering artistic CAD drawings and a patent application. The danger is to think that having a pretty picture with a patent application will be enough to get an investor on board. Is this really enough? An investor is looking at investment as a business risk; so they need to be convinced that their risk is manageable and there will be enough reward in taking that risk. So, what does an investor really look for when making their decision to invest?

• The investor will undertake due diligence using their own professional IP resource to establish if the intellectual property the inventor has is adequate (relevant, robust, defendable) and is worth maintaining.

• The investor will want properly researched and presented facts and figures to demonstrate the size of the potential market for the invention, and its competitive landscape. This will include a competitor’s analysis and a patent landscape, ideally with a freedom to operate analysis.

• The investor will want to know the costs of developing the invention into a manufactured product. Development can involve considerable expenditure in prototypes, tooling, testing, compliance and approvals.

• The investor will want to know costs of branding, packaging, marketing, stock holding and distribution.

To put it simply, investors need to be presented with a properly designed and costed product supported by robust intellectual property.

At Sated Design we have a team of design and engineering experts who all share a passion for creating successful products. We are supported by Chartered UK Patent Attorneys from world class intellectual property firms. Our track record is proven by hundreds of products and thousands of component parts taken from the first sketch all the way through to manufacturing, sometimes in their millions.

If you have an idea for a great new pleasure product, contact us today.

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R&D Tax relief for Sex Tech. Do you qualify?

Growth in Research & Development (R&D) tax relief claims totalled over £4bn last year. Introduced by the Government in 2001, the purpose of R&D tax relief is to offer tax credit benefits to those businesses who develop scientific and technological innovation across many industry sectors here in the UK. Reportedly to date, £26bn has been returned in tax relief to businesses across the nation and yet according to industry specialists the scheme is yet to be fully utilised.

Were you aware that Sex Tech is a key area where R&D claims are currently not being taken advantage of?

Without a doubt, Sex Tech is consistently producing pioneering work that would easily qualify under the R&D tax relief framework. Whether it is a new technology, stimulation technique, material or even the way these products are made, any and all new advancements tend to be leading innovation in the sector.
Presently the amount of Sex Tech companies applying for R&D is staggering low. This leads us to ask, is that because Sex Tech is either ignored or seen as too much of a taboo? Or is the onus on companies like you who might not even realise that you qualify?

In short, any UK limited company that is spending money on developing new products, or enhancing existing ones is eligible. Even if you’re not sure if your new product is possible, or you don’t know how to achieve it in practice, you could be resolving technological uncertainties and therefore be carrying out qualifying R&D.

The important thing to remember is that the Government’s accepted R&D definition doesn’t have to have been successful to qualify. If your project is ultimately unsuccessful but sought a solution, it could still be R&D. It is worth asking your accountant to look into this for you but you can also look for advice from HMRC and specialist tax advisers if your accountant is not 100% certain.

For more about R&D Relief click here.

If you’ve got an idea you want to take to market, we will assist you through your journey. Our services can include trend spotting and feasibility of a new adult toy product, ergonomic studies and reverse engineering which could all be attributed to R&D. Although we do not fund projects here at Sated Design, we have a comprehensive directory of business angels and companies who regularly invest in new businesses who wish to develop their products.

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Chinese New Year – The Year of the Pig

Planning around the Year of the Pig

On the week of February 5th in the UK, hundreds of thousands of people of all nationalities, will welcome the Year of the Pig which will be celebrated with the ringing of bells, the lighting of firecrackers and watching traditional lion dances. No doubt plenty of Chinese culinary delights will be consumed and plenty of elaborate displays watched.

In China these festivities will continue long after the weekend, fifteen days to be precise! Fifteen days when factories close and all manufacturing processes stop for the full duration of this holiday period. Some factories will close for even longer to allow for their workers to travel the huge distances to return to their home towns and villages. It is not unusual for workers to travel for several days to see family and friends they may not have seen for almost a year. The Chinese New year, or Spring Festival is therefore very important throughout China and much of South East Asia; of significant global importance, it is very much intertwined with the UKs business culture and it’s planning.

Whilst lead times are important to a project whatever the time of year, planning and scheduling are of upmost importance when Chinese New Year falls during the production process. The effect this can have on a project’s lead time could cause significant delay and ramifications if not borne in mind at the onset. It can be quite a task to co-ordinate between different regions when moving tools and goods to arrive within a production window. Experience of working with domestic and offshore manufacturers and suppliers coupled with experience of the differing cultures and practices of quite a few countries certainly helps to minimise any delays in production.

At Hillside Product Design, when planning a project, we always make sure to advise our clients of the implications of any decision to work with an offshore supplier. Accurate information derived from extensive past experience and used in conjunction with time compression technologies, proven fast track suppliers and savvy short cuts can deliver a complex project in record times and within tight budgets.

This year has been very busy with several shipments of tools being signed off and we are experiencing a comfortable period of calm and giving ourselves a part on the back. Congratulations and prosperity to our friends in China and we look forward to doing it all again next year.

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