Nasal Irrigation Products | Nottingham Spirk Design Collaborative

DISRUPTIVE NASAL IRRIGATION PRODUCTS

CHALLENGE: Improve design of existing battery-powered nasal irrigator.

SERVICES: Insights & Industrial Design

AWARDS / PRESS: Family Choice Awards, TOP-5 Best Sinus Cleaners

SUCCESS: The world's only handheld saline nasal irrigation device with gentle powered suction that relieves allergies, congestion, snoring, and more. Over one million happy customers and growing.

Naväge asked Nottingham Spirk to develop a second generation of its battery-operated nasal irrigator, used by people suffering from sinus infections, allergies and similar ailments. The original version’s nose cleaner device design, while effective, was inconvenient: it required assembly for each use; it leaked easily; it lacked flow control; and the packaging was bulky and expensive to produce due to the 8-ounce bottles of diluted saline solution.

Our innovation team's improved design replaced the Naväge nasal care system bottles with small pods of concentrated saline that snap in place. This simplified use, eliminated leaking and reduced the size of the package. We also added valving for flow regulation, improved the appearance and ergonomics of the case and devised a new pump to replace the one that Naväge had been purchasing from a third party.

Five Scenarios Suggesting You Need a Category Strategy

Client-partner Integrant leveraged Nottingham Spirk's white space analysis program to uncover markets that drew on their existing expertise. The program resulted in the atHand Overbed Table, a medical product that diversified their portfolio of products. The NS PathFinder program helps companies identify markets and launch new businesses – and it isn't just for those struggling.

The result: a disruptive consumer health product

One new feature was a pleasant surprise for Naväge executives. On the original model, users had to detach, turn and re-attach the nasal dock in order to alternate nostrils (the saline solution flows into one and is drawn out the other). Naväge had assumed this was unfixable, but we developed a rotating base for the dock that turns easily and clicks securely into place.

Our design replaced the bottles with small pods of concentrated saline that snap in place. This simplified use, eliminated leaking and reduced the size of the package. We also added valving for flow regulation, improved the appearance and ergonomics of the case.

Since the redesign, consumer reviews of the Naväge nasal care system have been overwhelmingly positive. The Starter Bundle, which includes the Naväge Nose Cleaner, 18 Naväge SaltPods, standard nose pillows and batteries, has more than 31,000 ratings on Amazon and 4.4 stars out of 5.