By Justin Fenton
Enquirer staff writer

Down but not out, Jack Wehrman's drink is safe in his cup after the Crestview Hills 14-month-old knocked it off his high chair. The Enquirer/MEGGAN BOOKER

Denny Kays had retired, but is back in business selling the Drink Deputy as part of Made for Mom. The Enquirer/MEGGAN BOOKER

COVINGTON - Three years after leaving the door business, Denny Kays is at the front step of what he hopes will be his next career.

Kays, 57, had retired to Arizona. But after hatching an idea for a new baby product - a strap that keeps bottles from tumbling off high chairs and strollers - Kays has teamed up with two other fledgling baby-accessories peddlers to form a partnership that they hope will make retailers go gaga.

Kay had started out by surfing the Internet, scribbling a two-page list of baby-product stores on a yellow legal pad, cold-calling distributors and pretty much getting the runaround.

So about 18 months ago, he moved back to Covington, where he had stronger business ties that could help point him in the right direction.

"This is way out of my expertise, but you go for it and it's a heck of a challenge," said Kays, who formerly made his living redoing house fronts with mahogany and ash doors. "If there's a mistake, I've made it."

After getting a chilly reception from retailers as a single-item vendor, Kays trudged to a trade show, where he met Illinois mom Christine Moss - who had invented a bowl with plastic fins that keeps food from falling out if the bowl takes a spill - and discussed teaming up.

Moss brought on Arizona mom Denise Marshall, who had previously contacted her to compare notes as small-business owners.

The three joined forces as Made for Mom LLC, whose pitch is baby products under $10 - made for moms, by moms.

Staying together?

Kays said the idea for his Drink Deputy strap was hatched with a friend who was a grandmother and mother, while Moss and Marshall were stay-at-home moms who decided to patent a product they couldn't find in stores.

Under Made for Mom's setup, the three pitch all of the company's products in their respective regions. If Moss finds a retailer interested in the Drink Deputy, she'll notify Kays, and vice versa. Then Kays, for example, sells that amount of his product to their limited-liability company, which sells it to the retailer and forwards the money to Kays.

"Each of our individual companies sells to Made for Mom for the exact price that we'll get from the retailer," said Moss, an Illinois mother of two whose product, the Snack Trap, has been featured on Dr. Phil McGraw's television talk show and the CBS Morning Show. "We sell to the company, and it goes through Made for Mom so it has the privilege of the Made for Mom brand name."

The three outsource the manufacturing of their products. Moss and Marshall then ship the products to the retailers themselves while Kays ships directly from the manufacturer.

Darcy Misiak, a business strategist for Barnes Dennig Strategic Partners on Vine Street downtown, said Kays, Moss and Marshall are enjoying the benefits of strength in numbers but will need to take the next step to stay together.

"Strategically, three are better than one - that makes complete sense. (And) it sounds like they do have some common objectives," Misiak said.

(But) there has to be an incentive to keep these people together for the long term. Right now it makes sense, but ... if one of them sells a whole bunch and the other two aren't selling, what's going to keep them together?"

Moss has moved more than 100,000 products in the past year, while Kays and Marshall report about 5,000 and 2,000 respectively.

The three don't profit from each others' sales but could benefit from the association with their products.

The arrangement is not unique, as teaming up is common in the small-accessories business, according to Jennifer Szwalek, vice president of communications for the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, which hosts an annual trade show for small vendors.

"There are plenty of scenarios where a mom gives birth and realizes, 'I could use a product such as whatever-it-may-be,' but that product line isn't enough to launch their business, so they investigate others," she said.

Expansion ahead

All three entrepreneurs said the idea has had early success, with distributors more willing to market an established multiproduct business.

Kays said 10 to 12 other vendors around the country have taken notice of the arrangement and contacted him about adding their products to the Made for Mom line. Kays said the company hopes to expand in the near future.

"There's benefits with numbers," said Marshall, whose product is the Mac and Cool, a self-cooling dish for hot foods.

"One of us can be working to get into one chain of stores and another can be working on another one. It's kind of like having two other people helping to sell your product with you."

Retaining licenses also leaves the flexibility of branching out. Kays' Drink Deputy is sold locally at Johnny's at Peebles Corner, Remke Markets and in 18 states overall, but he is pitching variations of the product designed for travelers and for hunters.

His inspiration? After handing out samples of the Drink Deputy at a trade show, he noticed while waiting in an airport that people had tied it to their luggage to carry water bottles.

"As I'm sitting in the airport, I see 10 or 15 of these things going through with a water bottle attached to luggage," said Kays. "And I said, 'Click!' "

Enter the "Travel Mate by Drink Deputy," essentially the same product but slightly larger to hold larger bottles. Another version marketed toward hunters is also in the works, and Kays is pitching it to Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's.

"If Bambi comes along and something drops, you're in trouble," Kays said.

E-mail jfenton@enquirer.com.