By Zolene, Massage Therapist · Updated 5 October 2026
On 16 September 2026 Muscle Mint received a Certificate of Recognition from the Department for the Economy for reaching Silver level on the Innovate NI Innovation Framework. Innovate NI is the Department's programme for helping Northern Ireland businesses turn ideas into value, and Silver is the second of its four recognition levels. The recognition is for the idea we are working on now: a new product made only for massage therapists, for professional use. Here is what the framework is, how our first cream went through each stage, why the new product is at Silver, and whether I would recommend the process to another small business.
- Innovate NI is a Department for the Economy initiative, delivered by Invest Northern Ireland
- Its Innovation Framework has four stages: ideation, selection, development and commercialisation
- Each stage has a recognition level: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum
- Silver means an idea has been chosen and is being tested, validated and developed
- The recognition is for how a business innovates. It is not an approval of any product
In This Article
- What is Innovate NI?
- What are the four stages of the Innovation Framework?
- Why is Muscle Mint at Silver if the cream is already on sale?
- Ideation: where did the first idea come from?
- Selection: how did we choose our first cream?
- Development: what did testing look like?
- Commercialisation: what comes after launch?
- What happens after you get Innovate NI recognition?
- Is Innovate NI recognition worth going for?
- How can your business apply? Innovate NI resources
What Is Innovate NI?
Innovate NI is a Department for the Economy initiative, delivered by Invest Northern Ireland, that helps local businesses create value from new ideas. It gives businesses a shared four-step process for innovation, a free online Innovation Assessment that shows where a business sits on that process, and recognition at each step in the form of a certificate and promotional materials from the Department.
The useful part, for a business our size, is the structure. When you are two people making a product in small batches, "innovation" can feel like a word for bigger companies. The framework breaks it into stages you can actually recognise in your own week.
What Are the Four Stages of the Innovation Framework?
The four stages are ideation, selection, development and commercialisation, and completing each one earns the matching recognition level, from Bronze for ideation to Platinum for commercialisation. They follow the same path as most new product development models: generate ideas, choose one, test and build it, then take it to market and make it pay.
| Stage | Level | What it means | How our first cream went through it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ideation | Bronze | Generating ideas to address a real challenge or opportunity | Massage therapists needing a high quality product to use and recommend |
| Selection | Silver | Choosing one idea to take forward and starting to test and validate it | A peppermint and eucalyptus cream in a sunflower oil base, in three sizes |
| Development | Gold | Prototypes, feedback, costs and the approvals needed to launch | Eighteen months of formulation, a cosmetic safety assessment and sample feedback |
| Commercialisation | Platinum | Launching the innovation, then showing it creates value and growth | Online since December 2025, with local stockists and a trade portal |
The Innovate NI recognition levels page describes Silver as having selected an idea to commercialise and "testing, validating, and developing it". Gold is for an innovation that has been developed, tested and commercially launched, and Platinum is for one that has produced new profit or growth. Each assessment covers one idea, so the level belongs to that idea rather than to the whole business.
Why Is Muscle Mint at Silver If the Cream Is Already on Sale?
Because the Silver recognition is for a new product, not the cream you can buy today. The idea we put forward in our assessment is a product made only for massage therapists, for professional use. We have chosen it and are now developing and testing it, which is exactly what Silver describes. As the Innovate NI adviser who followed up put it, Silver "recognises that you are taking an idea forward for development and testing".
Gold comes when that idea starts generating sales. So our next step on the framework is clear: launch the professional product, start selling it to therapists, and then go back to Innovate NI for Gold.
Ideation: Where Did the First Idea Come From?
From the treatment room. I needed a product that I could use on my clients, recommend to them between sessions and also have potential for retail.
That was the challenge in Innovate NI terms: a sensation people clearly valued, with no product made, labelled and assessed for human skin that I was happy to use in the room and send home with a client. I have been a massage therapist for more than fifteen years, and I had been noticing that gap for most of them.
Selection: How Did We Choose Our First Cream?
By choosing one clear idea and committing to it. I chose a menthol cream because the cooling tingle was the thing clients noticed, and a cream over a gel because I need slip to massage with. A sunflower oil base gives that slip and is gentle and hydrating on the skin. Peppermint and eucalyptus give the fresh scent and the strong, temporary cooling tingle.
Choosing the sizes was part of the same decision, because each size answers a different person:
| Size | Who it is for |
|---|---|
| 500ml | Massage therapists, physios and clubs, sold to trade customers only |
| 250ml pump | Everyday use at home |
| 50ml clip-on | Gym bags, desks and hand luggage, under the 100ml limit |
The practitioner bottle is the reason the other two exist. A client feels it on the couch, then takes the 250ml home or clips the 50ml to a kit bag.
Development: What Did Testing Look Like?
For our first cream, development covered eighteen months of formulation, the cosmetic safety assessment every cosmetic needs before it can legally be sold, packaging and labels, and then a lot of listening. The framework asks for evidence that an idea creates value for real customers, and a sample in someone's hand is the most honest evidence there is.
We made a small 15ml sample size for exactly that. Samples have gone into competitor bags at local races and lifting competitions, to massage students, and to staff at a hospital wellbeing event. What came back shaped the business: people talked about the smell first, then the tingle, then whether the cream left their skin greasy.
Development is also where the unglamorous systems get built. When the first shop asked to stock Muscle Mint, we built a trade portal so a stockist can order, pay and track a delivery in one place rather than over a chain of emails. It is the least visible part of the business and probably the part that makes growth possible.
I did not just learn how to make a cream. I learned how to bring one to market properly.
Zolene, founder of Muscle Mint
Commercialisation: What Comes After Launch?
Platinum is the final level, for an innovation that has created real value, new profit or growth for the business. We launched online in December 2025, more than 2,000 people have now tried Muscle Mint, and customers have sent us photos of their bottles from Melbourne to Big Bend in Texas. The professional product will follow the same path, and once it is on sale to therapists, it is the idea we will take back to Innovate NI for Gold.
That means more independent shops, clinics and gyms in Northern Ireland, then further afield once the first ones are working. You can see where Muscle Mint is stocked today on our store finder, and businesses that want to stock it can start on the stockist page.
A peppermint and eucalyptus menthol cream in a sunflower oil base, made in Northern Ireland, UK. It creates a strong, temporary cooling tingle on the skin.
What Happens After You Get Innovate NI Recognition?
The certificate is the start of the support, not the end of it. The email that came with ours said the Innovate NI team was now available to give advice, guidance and support to move the idea on to the next stage of the framework.
That follow-up is the part I would tell another small business about. In the assessment I had said we wanted help developing the new professional product, and an adviser from the team got in touch personally to offer a chat about exactly that, either in person or on a Teams call. What you write in the assessment decides what help comes back, so be specific about where you are stuck.
According to Innovate NI, the support can include:
- Direct advice and guidance from an innovation specialist
- Signposting to sources of innovation funding
- Innovation workshops and webinars
- Ongoing support and mentoring as the idea develops
- Advice on applying for other innovation support
Is Innovate NI Recognition Worth Going For?
For a small Northern Ireland business, yes. The Innovation Assessment is free, it makes you write down what you have actually done, and the stage it places you at tells you plainly what the next step looks like.
Be clear about what it is, too. The certificate recognises how a business develops and tests its ideas. It is not a quality mark, and it says nothing about whether a product works, so it should never be presented as one. For us its value was the structure, the honest checkpoint, and a small moment of pride for two people who started with an idea in a treatment room.
How Can Your Business Apply? Innovate NI Resources
Start with the free online Innovation Assessment. You register an account, the assessment takes around 20 minutes, and you complete it for one idea only. Innovate NI counts an idea as innovation when it is new to your business and to the wider market, and leads to a new or improved product, service, business model or process that creates value for the business.
Innovate NI asks you to explain three things in detail, and they are worth drafting before you log in:
- How the idea adds value to your business
- How it clearly differs from what others are offering
- How you tested it, or how you plan to
These are the pages and programmes worth bookmarking:
| Resource | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Innovation Assessment | Where you apply. Free, around 20 minutes, one idea per assessment |
| Core questions (PDF) | Every question in the assessment, so you can draft your answers first |
| Sample assessment (PDF) | A worked example of a completed assessment |
| Ideation guide | Stage one: generating ideas for a real challenge or opportunity |
| Selection guide | Stage two: choosing the right idea to take forward |
| Development guide | Stage three: concept testing, prototypes and intellectual property |
| Commercialisation guide | Stage four: getting your idea to market |
| Recognition levels | What Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum each mean |
| Case studies | How other Northern Ireland businesses used the framework |
| Innovation Vouchers (Invest NI) | Up to £10K of expertise from a university or college for an innovation project. It is not paid to you as cash, and it does not cover marketing, websites or business plans. Applications open in calls |
| Go Succeed | Free business support from Northern Ireland's councils, for starting and growing a business |
| InterTradeIreland | Cross-border innovation support for businesses on both sides of the border |
If you would rather talk it through first, Innovate NI's Business Support Team is on 0800 181 4422, or you can use the contact form.
Related Reading
Frequently asked questions
What is Innovate NI?
What are the four stages of the Innovate NI Innovation Framework?
What does Silver level mean on the Innovate NI Innovation Framework?
Why is Muscle Mint at Silver level if its cream is already on sale?
How do you get Innovate NI recognition?
Is Innovate NI recognition a product approval?
How long does the Innovate NI Innovation Assessment take?
What support do you get after Innovate NI recognition?
Can Innovate NI help with funding?
Written by Zolene
Zolene is a massage therapist with more than fifteen years of hands-on experience. She created Muscle Mint in Northern Ireland, UK, for the minutes after effort.
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