With more than 900 research and development professionals employed by Amway, discovery is job #1.

In fact, more than 1,000 patents have been secured during the company’s history and over 800 more are pending. Many of these discoveries are driven by customer demands, feedback from distributors or advances in the market.

But some of the best discoveries happen simply by accident.

Take, for example, the company’s invention of non-chlorinated automatic dishwasher detergent. In the 1980s, there was not a non-chlorinated product on the market and Amway wasn’t trying to develop one. But, while testing a potential product for soil removal, our R&D professionals noticed that the product eliminated spots. Upon further testing, it also seemed to clean plates, plastic and other flatware better than anything else.

Quickly, a new product was born.

“It was all just serendipity,” Amway Scientist Ernie Brumbaugh said. “The result of observation and the understanding that something unique was happening in front of our eyes.”

What came to be known as Crystal Bright Automatic Dishwashing Detergent is just one of many discoveries made by Brumbaugh, who’s been with Amway for nearly 43 years.  It’s also one of the reasons the company recently honored him with induction into the Amway’s new R&D Distinguished Scientific Leadership Society – the highest honor bestowed by the R&D division.

Comedian Steve Martin once said, “I’ve got to keep breathing. It will be my worst business mistake if I don’t.”

Of course breathing is essential to success in life, but it is also important to consider the quality of the air we breathe. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, air indoors is 2-5 times more contaminated than outdoor air.

As air quality continues to decline globally, Amway’s ATMOSPHERE™ Air Treatment System ensures families a cleaner and healthier residential environment. Its leading technology matched with the dedication of our more than three million distributors worldwide has made ATMOSPHERE the world’s number one selling brand of residential air treatment systems. (Based on the Verify Markets study of 2011 global sales.)

“We’re proud that our ATMOSPHERE Air Purifier leads sales in the air purification category,” said Mitch Urbytes, Director of Home Brands. “But the greatest achievement is that our technology ensures a cleaner and healthier environment by reducing dust and allergens.”

Thanks to ATMOSPHERE and Amway, we can all breathe a little easier.

(Guest post by Jenie Altruda)

Just try to get an appointment at this hair salon.  There are no regular customers and walk-ins are strictly prohibited.

But it  plays an important role in helping your hair look great.

That’s because the Amway International Research Salon allows our scientists and researchers to learn more about how our products perform on all kinds of hair, by testing those products on volunteers.

Salon testing  allows  product developers to receive “in-use” performance data on Satinique formulations to support  preliminary testing done in our  labs.  Scientists and licensed cosmetologists evaluate the condition of hair before and after use of our shampoo, conditioning and styling products so they know they will perform as expected.

It’s just one way Satinique helps you get “salon-worthy” hair without leaving home.  No appointment necessary!

Amway Home products are top of the line, but don’t take our word for it. Check out a product demo and see for yourself.

To prove the effectiveness of our products, our Research and Development team creates product demos that compare our product performance to that of our competitors.

The Permanent Marker Demo, featuring our L.O.C. Kitchen Cleaner, is a favorite of the Home Care Product Development group. This demo shows a quick and simple solution to an everyday household problem – removing permanent marker from countertops and other surfaces.

Product demos are a powerful tool for our distributors to use in selling our products to customers. Russia and China reported that most distributors in those markets rate product demos as “important” or “very important” to their business. After the permanent marker demo was released in North America, we saw a significant increase in L.O.C. Kitchen Cleaner sales.

See for yourself the demonstrable quality of our products.

Some of the best online videos are designed by people who might not be experts with a camera, but who have unlimited imagination and enthusiasm.

We’ll uncap some of that creative talent in Europe, where we’re celebrating the first anniversary of our Amway Home brand with a call for original video demonstrations.

Video entries are due today for this pilot program. The videos are made by and star our distributors, as well as Amway Home laundry, dish or surface products. To date, more than 160 videos are contenders. [Update: The final number of entries totals more than 220.]

It’s a simple idea, but one that could have far-reaching potential. Our research shows that a home care demonstration increases sales volume, and improves both distributor and customer engagement.

Our Research and Development team will help judge the winning entries, based on novelty, simplicity and relevance.

We can’t wait to meet the winners later this year. Not only do they each earn a trip for two to Amway World Headquarters, they’ll also perform in their own demos, which will be professionally produced.

Watch the Insider for a future sneak peak!

Jesseca Frost, Amway Public Relations Intern, co-authored this post.

Thomas Edison was a brilliant inventor.

That’s why our Fulton Innovation team is privileged to win the Gold Edison Award in Applied Technology for Power Management for eCoupled Intelligent Wireless Power in the internationally renowned 2012 Edison Awards.

Fulton’s innovative entry impressed the judges – a group of more than 3,000 senior business executives and academics – with a collaborative effort with Motorola Mobility to provide a wireless power option for the DROID™3.

“We are honored to receive this recognition from the prestigious Edison Awards,” said Dave Baarman, director of advanced technologies for Fulton Innovation, in a news release. “Our work with Motorola, the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), and our many partners enable us to bring advancements in wireless power directly to consumers to simplify their lives.”

For the second year, Amway has been named the top water filtration company in the Asia Pacific region by Frost & Sullivan for the eSpring Water Purifier.

“Amway continuously looks for ways to better serve its customers, whether it is through education or constant innovation through research and development,” said Vidhi Yaduvanshi, a consultant for Frost & Sullivan’s Asia Pacific Environment & Building Technologies team. 

Frost and Sullivan called Amway an “industry leader in the region” in water treatment.

That “constant innovation” is the result of nearly three decades of research in water treatment and purification led by some of the industry’s top scientists. 

“Amway has engaged some of the world’s top research and development talent to develop innovative products that are relevant to people around the world, and we are dedicated every day to continue to improve these products,” said Roy Kuennen, Amway’s director of Durables Research and Development.

Our Taiwan and Hong Kong affiliates recently renovated facilities to offer brand-new brand experience centers for our distributors and their customers.

The Amway Kaohsiung Experience Center in Taiwan originally opened in 1987 as the first pick-up center for distributors.  Today it’s a thriving destination  for distributors and customers to experience our  Nutrilite, Artistry and Amway Home brands and products plus learn more about the company and business opportunity.

The Causeway Bay Shop in Hong Kong first opened in 2003. The renovated center has interactive stations where customers can try Artistry skin care and cosmetics or learn which Nutrilite supplements are right for them.

The Hong Kong and Taiwan centers are among more than 600 shops and brand centers around the world that showcase Amway brands and products.

A study conducted by Amway in 16 cities throughout Russia showed that more than 60 percent of respondents are immensely concerned about environmental issues caused by non-biodegradable products. 

That’s just one of many reasons Amway Russia supports an initiative called “500 Waste Collection Actions in One Day,” through an organization called Musora. Bolshe. Net, which translates to ”No. More. Waste.” The organization is part of the larger, global Clean Up the World movement.

On May 15, 2011, Musora. Bolshe. Net set out – with 9,000 volunteers throughout Russia – to clean up parks, gardens and other public areas. Amway provided special gloves; garbage bags; LOC mini wipes; other Amway Home products; and most importantly, 470 distributor and employee volunteers.

By the end of the day, more than 160 tons of waste was collected and cities like Moscow, Samara, Novosibirsk, Ekaterinburg, Irkutsk and many others were cleaner. Musora. Bolshe. Net is an ambitious initiative, and 500 is just the beginning.

Stefan Starzyński was the president of Warsaw before and during the siege of the city by the German Army in 1939. In the city’s Bankowy Square, a statue was erected to honor him in 1993, but nearly two decades later, the memorial was looking rather unkempt.

Enter Amway employees and distributors, armed with the new line of Amway Home products being launched in Europe. On May 27, they volunteered to return the statue to its original splendor. The volunteers used several bottles of cleaning products, 50 liters of water and several hours of their time.

It was a dusty, dirty task, but the passersby and Polish media recognized that if any people - or any product – could do it, it was ours.