Need examples of things that enhance other things

May 20, 2021 4:15 AM

For a project, I am looking for examples of products and services that are not necessarily valuable on their own but are valuable because of how they enhance or extend something else. I would give an example but I can't think of one, which is why I am posting this question. Please help me wow my client with as many examples of things that enhance, extend, or add value to other things as possible. Thanks, hive mind!
posted by Bella Donna to Writing & Language (47 answers total)

You mean, like earbuds? (Can't use them on their own but let you listen to music silently?)
posted by Omnomnom at 4:29 AM on May 20, 2021 [2 favorites]

Do you have in mind things like car wax or wood varnish? They protect other things and extend their life / make them nicer, but are useless on their own.
posted by sir jective at 4:30 AM on May 20, 2021 [2 favorites]

Salting your food.
posted by mhoye at 4:32 AM on May 20, 2021 [7 favorites]

Installing moveable racking in a warehouse can extend the available space by utilizing some of the otherwise wasted aisle space. Multiple racks can be pushed together when the aisles between them are not needed, meaning you can fit more racks in the space.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 4:41 AM on May 20, 2021 [2 favorites]

Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
posted by akk2014 at 4:51 AM on May 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

Grilling. Without grilling, a melty delicious quesadilla is just a cold tortilla and some cheese. It's fully edible either way, but grilling turns it into this divine other thing.
posted by mochapickle at 4:53 AM on May 20, 2021

Also ketchup: You wouldn't eat ketchup on its own, but people eat gobs of it on just about everything. Ketchup packets are free to customers at restaurants but right now there's a shortage that's become national news, so it's becoming clear just how valuable they are to people.
posted by mochapickle at 4:58 AM on May 20, 2021

non-dairy creamer and hot beverages

magic shell and ice cream

computer/gaming peripherals and laptop/desktop/console
posted by askmehow at 5:04 AM on May 20, 2021

There's a whole sub-industry in tech devoted to productivity tools - does that fit your question? Configuration management, change tracking, ticket (job/bug) tracking, requirements management, personnel management - basically anything Atlassian puts out. None of these tools are used directly on the product, but are more general "business" tools to help the product get delivered faster/better.
posted by backseatpilot at 5:05 AM on May 20, 2021 [2 favorites]

Something I randomly heard of yesterday: anti-fouling paint
posted by crocomancer at 5:07 AM on May 20, 2021

Replacement parts of all sorts.
Maintenance tools of all sorts, e.g. knife sharpeners.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:11 AM on May 20, 2021

Vaccine adjuvants.
posted by eponym at 5:12 AM on May 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

There’s latex paint extender which doesn’t dilute paint like water would but it lengthens the time before drying. Very helpful when you’re painting during the hottest week of the year and paint is drying on the brush.

“Flavor enhancers”, the stuff you squirt into a glass of water to make it less blah.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:24 AM on May 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

Cupholders in a car.
posted by scolbath at 5:25 AM on May 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

I think mhoye is on the right track of what the OP is looking for. If I get the gist, they're wanting things that exist separately as discrete things, not intended to be used together, but nonetheless enhance each other (or create a new thing) when combined. Perhaps serendipity is involved?

It's a toughie.

Maybe something like natural rubber and sulfur? Apart, they are their own things with different uses, but when brought together they create hardened, vulcanized rubber?
posted by Thorzdad at 5:29 AM on May 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

Gold and silver leaf
posted by parmanparman at 5:30 AM on May 20, 2021

Frosting. I mean you can eat it from the jar, and you can eat a plain cake...but a well decorated cake is gonna sell better.

In the same vein, as a sewist and history interested person, my first thought was decorative trim. This used to be considered ridiculously more valuable than currently, because of difficulty making it - enough that one would remove it from old clothing and sew it back to new pieces.
posted by cobaltnine at 5:44 AM on May 20, 2021 [2 favorites]

products and services that are not necessarily valuable on their own.. that enhance, extend, or add value to other things

I'm going to go with manure. As far as not being valuable on its own, there's a real thing in farming where you have too much manure and have to figure out how to get rid of it. (related article from modern farmer: What To Do With All of the Poo?). But it definitely enhances and adds value to garden soil.
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 5:45 AM on May 20, 2021 [2 favorites]

A couple more from the material handling industry:

Forklift attachments to handle special types of material (for example, a roll clamp which will allow the truck to securely lift a large cylindrical object). Other types of machines which can be fitted with various attachments to extend their usefulness include vacuum cleaners (the crevice tool) and stand mixers (the dough hook).

There exist computerized systems that can monitor your fork truck fleet to help you extend the life and usefulness of your trucks. Each truck is outfitted with sensors that relay information such as how much use the truck is getting (are you spreading the wear and tear evenly across your fleet?), small accidents that might otherwise go unreported, whether the truck is due for routine maintenance based on usage, etc.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 5:57 AM on May 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

Possibly not in the right vein, but my go-to example for a catalyst is putting ash on a sugar cube. If you touch a match to a sugar cube, you can get it to melt, but not burn. If you put ash on the sugar cube (ash, so it's already burned... this isn't changing the ash) and THEN touch the match to it, it'll burn. Has to be the sugar, because ash doesn't burn.

(I usually use this as a metaphor for my friends who do the behind-the-scenes gruntwork that keeps real life moving. You might not feel different, you might not BE different, but if you weren't here, nothing happens.)

And salt/ketchup/MSG were the other place I went first. There are a bunch of "extension" foods too: the Yorkshire puddings of the world, or grits, where it's cheaper than the food people actually want but it'll soak up the flavor of whatever you do have, and fill your belly less expensively.
posted by adekllny at 6:17 AM on May 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

I'd lump salt, ketchup, hot sauce, most spices, condiments into one broad category of flavor enhancers for food.

And related, but somewhat different: dip. Like sour cream and green onion, or ranch dip, or queso enhance chips or raw veggies.
posted by evilmomlady at 6:25 AM on May 20, 2021

There used to be an ad campaign for BASF: "we don't make a lot of the products you buy; we make a lot of the products you buy better". I still have no idea what BASF does, or whether they actually make products you buy better, but that seems like something worth looking into.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:26 AM on May 20, 2021 [2 favorites]

I still have no idea what BASF does, or whether they actually make products you buy better,

Chemicals: paint and other coatings, plastics, antifreeze, fertilizer, that kind of stuff. "Ingredients" for all kinds of production processes.
posted by Stoneshop at 6:36 AM on May 20, 2021

Smart phone cases are only useful in conjunction with smart phones.

Fuzzy dice and pine tree shaped air fresheners are only useful in conjunction with rear-view mirrors in cars.

Wifi range extenders aren't full routers, but they can extend the reach of existing routers.

Are any of those the sorts of things you're looking for?
posted by Winnie the Proust at 6:45 AM on May 20, 2021

Any computer peripheral is valuable only if you have a computer to plug it into. An external keyboard, for instance, is useless on its own, but enhances the usability of a laptop.

Toaster tongs exist only to make it easier to get small bready things out of an electric toaster... and they definitely enhance the usability of the toaster.

Varnish, paint and similar surface treatments are only useful if you have something you would like to varnish, paint etc., and their whole purpose is to enhance (and protect) that item.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 6:47 AM on May 20, 2021

Dongles!
posted by fiercecupcake at 6:50 AM on May 20, 2021

Mayonnaise!
posted by jgirl at 7:02 AM on May 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

what about cleaners? like, we use JetDry in our dishwasher, it makes a huge difference. Same with OxyClean for laundry.

Tivo. The box and service do nothing on their own, but they enhance the hell out of tv watching.

Shoe orthotics.

We had a thing that attached to our stroller handles to make them longer so my tall husband didn't have to hunch. Totally useless on it's own, but a serious problem solver.
posted by dpx.mfx at 7:26 AM on May 20, 2021

Fresh flowers when selling a house.
posted by pipeski at 7:30 AM on May 20, 2021

Pretty much the entire aftermarket car accessory market. Windshield shades, floor mats, truck bed covers, hitches, etc.
posted by Sublimity at 8:17 AM on May 20, 2021

Food. Sure meat and veg have a value, but the chef skills add value as do the herbs and spices to make something better than the parts you started with, which they can sell for more.
posted by wwax at 8:25 AM on May 20, 2021

What about products that literally extend other products, like bed risers that extend the height of your bed, or extension cords?
posted by capricorn at 8:28 AM on May 20, 2021

There are fuel additives that do things like help stabilize gas for a long period of time (like when you store an RV for the winter) that aren't useful in and of themselves. Similarly, antifreeze isn't particularly useful at 100% concentration but is critical to add to the water in your radiator.
posted by Candleman at 8:30 AM on May 20, 2021

Makeup/cosmetics. Consultants. Cataloging software.
posted by wenestvedt at 8:57 AM on May 20, 2021

"Point protectors"--these are little soft rubber, plastic, or foam "caps" you can put on the end of knitting needles to keep the knitting from sliding off in between sessions. I can't think of any independent value for them, but they make it easier to knit in the round on shorter needles.
posted by praemunire at 9:11 AM on May 20, 2021

I suppose a program debugger would be worthless on its own. They are usually designed specifically for certain programming languages or run time systems/environments. They allow a programmer familiar with the tool the ability to walk through (at human speed and with visibility to the original human code and variable contents) a program that is not behaving as intended/expected.
posted by forthright at 9:28 AM on May 20, 2021

Warranties and money-back/replacement guarantees. Insurance. SPF.
Shoe and boot trees, shoe horns. Shoe repair shops have shoe stretchers. A cobbler can extend the life of your shoes (or boots, or bags) with other tools, techniques, and products: heel taps, non-dance toe taps, re-soling or specialty soles, inserts, conditioning, waxing, waterproofing...
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:02 AM on May 20, 2021

There are literally pieces of jewellery called enhancers. Rather than having a fixed slide-through bail, the pendants have a flip-top style clasp that opens wide enough to clip over a strand of pearls (or other large beads).
posted by sardonyx at 10:55 AM on May 20, 2021

Bella Donna, can you give feedback, maybe share your own example, so answerers know if they're on the right track?
posted by theora55 at 11:34 AM on May 20, 2021

Seatbelts in cars.
posted by grateful at 11:35 AM on May 20, 2021

On possibly a tangent, I read this yesterday:

https://www.cnet.com/news/nikola-tesla-invention-from-100-years-ago-suddenly-makes-more-sense-today/
posted by grateful at 11:37 AM on May 20, 2021

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone! I think everyone’s on the right track and I can’t be more specific because I’m still figuring this out in my head. All of your suggestions are helpful to me. I’m sorry that I can’t give you more details.
posted by Bella Donna at 12:08 PM on May 20, 2021

A bowl of fruit!
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 2:03 PM on May 20, 2021

In my head, I am imagining a client conversation where what is needed is a perfect image/example that can parallel what you're proposing your solution can do for them. My brain heads in the direction of low-stakes items that nonetheless make ordinary life processes simpler/easier: shims, safety pins, rubber bands, paperclips, staplers, Tupperware. Or maybe a better-together story like the ice-cream cone, chocolate-chip cookies, the sandwich?
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 3:28 PM on May 20, 2021

Are you thinking about "value add?"

For example, selling cannabis plant starts to cultivators.

A value add would be to genotype (DNA fingerprint) the plantlets leaving the door to verify that they are indeed what they are purported to be (or more importantly, if they originally came from the client for propagation and you're giving them many little plantlets back).

Or doing destructive testing on a portion outgoing for DNA detection of the presence of specific bits of microbial DNA. No DNA, there is not and never was any of that particular microbe on (probably) that lot of plantlets going out the door.
posted by porpoise at 4:14 PM on May 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

Pedals for electric guitars — takes an instrument that sounds more or less one way, and affordably lets you suddenly have access to totally different sounds through the same "interface."

Same thing on steroids: Digital amp and pedal simulation software, giving you a gazillion guitar effects in one package.

Lenses for (D)SLR cameras. Filters for those lenses. Tripods for cameras.

Sound bar or other high quality speaker for flat screen TVs. TVs come with shockingly bad sound, to the point that it's hard to hear what people are saying. Add a sound bar and suddenly the whole TV watching experience is wildly improved.

I guess similarly, a Roku or other streaming device, or even a cable box, as an add-on to a TV. A TV in and of itself is not super useful.

Wind shields for microphones.

Sheets, comforters and pillows for beds.

Insoles for shoes.

Bulbs for lamps?
posted by edlundart at 4:22 AM on May 21, 2021

Picture (or photo) frame.
posted by hellopanda at 5:06 AM on May 21, 2021