When Product Lines Take a Sharp Turn By Gregg Opelka A funny thing happened on the way to the showroom. The flagship product made a wrong turn. I call them detour compa- nies: A business doing one thing, often very well, morphing into an even more successful but different en- terprise. The history of American industry is awash in shining examples of com- panies that made revolu- tionary changes, becoming essentially new businesses en route. The Wrigley Co. didn't start out making chewing gum. In 1891 at age 30, Wil- liam Wrigley Jr. opened a branch of his father's Phila- delphia-based soap company in Chicago. To each purchaser of Wrigley's Scouring Soap the young salesman gave a free sample of baking powder. The promotion was so suc- cessful Wrigley soon switched to selling baking powder, in- cluding two free packs of chewing gum with each order. The gum was so popular that by 1893 Juicy Fruit and Wrig- ley's Spearmint chewing gum became the company's chief product. The soap and baking powder took a permanent powder. In the late 1800s, clipping a horse's coat and mane was a time-consuming necessity. Enter newly incorporated Chicago Flexible Shaft Co. In December 1897 it debuted its New '98 Chicago Clipper, which according to Black- smith and Wheelwright Mag- azine "has practically revolu- tionized the horse-clipping business." The device cost $12.75, roughly $450 in to- day's money. Within a decade, however, the horseless carriage had 5/19/202 greatly reduced demand for horse clippers. Chicago Flexi- ble Shaft quickly pivoted to making speedometers, horns and coal-burning foot heaters for the ubiquitous new auto- mobile. Before long, the com- pany's innovators were pro- The company that became Sunbeam started out making horsehair clippers. ducing such must-have household appliances as flat- irons, toasters, grills and even electric hair clippers- this time for humans, not horses. Decades after its success- ful detour, the Chicago Flexi- ble Shaft Co. gave its old moniker the shaft, officially rebranding itself as Sunbeam Corp. in 1946. Its Mixmaster kitchen mixer was many en- gineering steps removed from the New '98 Chicago Clipper, but both devices shared one giant selling point-convenience. The old business saying "innovate or die" doesn't al- ways hold true. Tootsie Roll still thrives selling its choco- late taffy candy 115 years af- ter its 1907 debut. Yet many great American companies that took sharp detours to survive ended up flourishing in unforeseen and spectacular new ways. Whether the result of relentless innovation or a happy accident, the detour turned out to be the best part of the journey. Side roads always offer the pretti- est scenery. Mr. Opelka is a musical- theater composer-lyricist.