As part of Amazon’s effort to bring a broad array of choices to its customers, Amazon Lauanchpad was introduced to make it easier for startups to promote their products on the retailing giant’s website, making it a great place to shop for unexpected gifts.

The result is an offering of many products with innovative and creative features to meet the needs of Gift hunters. There is everything from several different car key finders to precision cooking devices to responsive toy monkeys that will dance on your finger.

The beginnings of support

With the Amazon Launchpad store you have one place where you can explore the brightest startups to look for interesting products to buy. These startup companies are primarily companies that have gotten their startup funding from a crowdfunding site like Kickstarter, Tech Stars, or Circle Up. Crowdfunding sites are great for helping companies get the initial funding and attention they need to get started, but what happens after the companies are launched? That is where the Amazon Launchpad program comes into play. It provides a way for startups to get the continued special attention they need to get through the next phases of growth.

The benefits of launching new products on Amazon Launchpad

So if you’re wondering about your options for continuing to support these startups or want to find the latest in creative and innovative products, you should give Amazon Launchpad a try. Many of the products are eligible for fast and free shipping through Amazon Prime. So that’s one big benefit of buying products from your favorite startups at Amazon.com, if you are a Prime member, you can rush that gift (if eligible) out to your gift recipient for free.

The trade show like displays

Another benefit for startups and Amazon shoppers, exploring the offerings of Launchpad, is that Amazon provides a generous pictorial, in the detail product pages, with descriptions that tell the stories behind the products and the companies. Whether you are buying a new product for yourself or as a gift, these displays make it easy to imagine the benefits of the product in use, compared to their ordinary product competitors. This is part of Amazon’s plan for startups to help them get the exposure they need to get better noticed on Amazon.

These pictorials give consumers a chance to learn about the product on a more personal, easy to follow and entertaining level. Amazon gives their Launchpad vendors plenty of space to display large pictorial story boards with easy to read descriptions, so it feels more like you are exploring a private gallery showing than viewing a typical product detail page. Or you could say visiting the Amazon Launchpad store is more like touring a trade show specializing in products from new companies than browsing through a typical ecommerce site.

Visiting some of the online "booths"

The Alchemi Labs River Hat product detail page is a great example of how a startup can take advantage of Amazon’s offer to give generous space to telling the story behind a startup's product and company. First of all the hat’s unique features are easy to explore through large pictures and captions which point out each beneficial feature; and then there is a short interview article with the founder of the company at the bottom of the pictorial where he sums up the story of the company in three pointed paragraphs, after summing up the product in three words: "High Performance Protection." Launcpad merchants also get a large video space at the top of the pictorial to show the product demonstrated and explained in action.

Browsing through the Amazon Launchpad detail page is almost like exploring an adult version of a science fair. All the displays are educational to some degree as they demonstrate through pictures and words how the products work. One good example of educational show-and-tell is the manufacturer’s display on the EcoQube C product detail page. The vendor illustrates how their betta fish aquarium using aquaponics technology is able to be self cleaning through the use of a basil plant. Their aquaponics system supports a micro herb garden which grows twice as fast due to drawing from the fish waste as a fertilizer.

The founders explained that the system is so balanced, you should never have to change the water. (Even though the overall customer reviews were highly rated, some of the customers reported some problems with getting the aquaponics system started or maintained over the long run in the EcoQube C aquaponics system.) And again, there is a generously sized video at the top of the pictorial that explains and demonstrates the science behind the EcoQube C.

Tracing the origins

Crowdfunding supporters and enthusiasts will appreciate that the products are not only organized by the usual product categories, but also by the crowd funder by which a company was helped. This gives a chance for you to look up to see if any of your favorite startups from a crowdfunding program, you were following, have made it to the Launchpad store.

The gift categories

If you want to give something really different for a gift this year then Amazon offers a gift guide of Launchpad products by interests for those on your list who would appreciate something unique and unexpected. For instance for your friends and families who like to host parties with a special flair, there is the Entertainer gift category which features everything from cleaver drink storage ideas to Bluetooth grilling, and even a craft beer brewing appliance.

For Adventurers there is a variety of innovative sports gear and an array of products to enhance outdoors and travel activities.

Amazon also calls its Launchpad gift guide a “Shop by Persona” guide with personas categorized like Gadget Lovers, Health and Fitness Gurus, Kids and Young at Heart, Makers & Doers, Pet Parents, and Foodies, in addition to the Entertainers and Adventurers personas. So whatever personality your gift recipients fall into, there is likely to be a gift with a creative solution they can appreciate.

The invitation

The Amazon Launchpad provides many benefits for startups and consumers, from showcasing leading edge products to helping the small business economy to flourish. For Amazon gift shoppers it provides an educational and entertaining online shopping experience and a chance to explore a great wealth of innovative products in one place to find that ideal unexpected gift. While you are looking for the ideal and unexpected gift, you may find a product for yourself with a new twist that fits the bill for you in a way you could only imagine in your dreams, if that.

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*Trade show picture taken by maebmij