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Ask HN: Is this idea any good?

5 points| sam_in_nyc | 17 years ago | reply

I don't have a blog or anything, so I'll just ask it here.

The idea is "Earth Food." It's essentially a packet of dirt. But it's marketed as "a specific blend of nitrates, soil, microbes, and seeds meant to nourish the planet." Kind of a fun gimmicky gift you give to someone "green"... a bag of dirt that they can throw on the ground anywhere they want. The wrapping is that "plastic made out of corn" stuff, so the whole thing is 100% biodegradable! ...also available in larger sizes.

I just like the concept of selling dirt. I really think it could work. Bobbleheads make money, and they're not: 1) green. 2) cheap as dirt to product and 3) funny.

What do you guys think of this marketing hack?

15 comments

[+] yan|17 years ago|reply

How is removing dirt, that is capable of sustaining life in its present form, and using resources to package it, using fuels to potentially ship it, and displacing it to probably a landfill (people will probably throw them out once the novelty wears off) green by any stretch of the imagination? Also using corn (which can be either food or fuel) and tying it up with a gag gift isn't very green.

[+] sam_in_nyc|17 years ago|reply

Because it's greener than buying some other gift. It's greener than most things you could buy. But, anyway, it's not really a "green product" so much as "to be marketed as green."

I personally think the whole green thing is ridiculous. People just need to stop making more people.

[+] arien|17 years ago|reply

Err, I find it odd. If I received a packet of dirt from a friend I would be amused, but it would probably end pouring it all over his head. Just kidding... or not.

But, if I had to choose a green gift it would rather be a baby tree or seeds to plant. So maybe you can add these to your dirt packages for a small fee ;)

[+] sam_in_nyc|17 years ago|reply

Ah... how about this twist:

Now with seeds! Everybody loves seeds! Basically you take the pouch and toss it somewhere and see what you get.

[+] RobGR|17 years ago|reply

Wildflower propagators make small golf-ball sized balls of dirt with native flower seeds in them, to be tossed into empty lots and other likely places. The idea is that the seed is protected until rain melts the dirtball, and then it can sprout and has a starting batch of nutrient right there.

You could probably sell those, and work some gimicky advertising off the "dirtball" name. You could probably get some wildflower propagators to make them for you for free, if you gave back to their organization from each sale.

[+] jwesley|17 years ago|reply

No, I doubt this could ever be a real business. Even if it catches on, you'd have to sell millions of these dirt packets to ever make any money. There was a thread on HN about a condom key chain business that failed for this reason. Even though they sold thousands of them, it doesn't add up to much when you only make a few pennies per unit.

[+] tom_rath|17 years ago|reply

Cute idea, but it sounds like a nasty way of introducing non-native microbes and insects to new places and would likely do far more long-term harm than good.