Beginning Point:
I believe that there exists an opportunity in the restaurant industry, from
fast food and mom and pop shops to up scale steak houses, for the need for
better, insulated take out bags.
Unmet Need:
People often have to deal with subpar paper or plastic bags that provide little
in the way of insulation when taking out food to eat at home or taking home
leftovers. This reduces the quality of the food and provides a less optimal dining
experience.
Who has the
need: All restaurant patrons have this need. This includes people who go
through fast food drive throughs like McDonalds, people who carry out food from
places like Chipotle, Bolay, or even steakhouses like Outback (to eat at home).
This problem is also extended to individuals who eat at the restaurant and
would like to take their leftovers home while keeping them fresh.
Where did
the need come from: This need has more or less always been around, especially
ever since the advent of the popularity of eating out, which is very popular in
American culture. In addition, food is a universal need that has been around
since the dawn of time.
What are
people doing to meet this need now: Not much is being done to meet this need.
Any restaurant that I have gone to, from fast food to upscale fine dining
establishments, uses the same thing for take out or leftovers: a plastic or
paper bag, perhaps branded with the company’s logo. This provides next to no
insulation, hence the stem of the opportunity. Some food delivery services give
their drivers insulated bags, but this does little to protect the actual food
in its own bag (keeping the food hot, not the bigger bag).
Percent Certainty
the problem exists: 80% sure.
Prototypical
Customer(s): Fast food patron, carry out patron, patron taking leftovers.
Single individual, family, group of people.
Prototypical
Customer #1: College Student at UF
Need: The student
lives off of campus and does not cook often, so take out is a staple of her
diet and a necessary part of her daily routine. She does not have the time to
cook meals multiple times a day, but still values a good, fresh meal. Often times
when she gets takeout, she recognizes that the food is quite cold upon arriving
home and has to microwave it. This makes her unhappy, and she feels as if she
is not getting what she paid for.
Awareness
of: Her awareness of this need occurs multiple times a day, and it has been occurring
ever since she started at UF about a year ago. Thus, it has become a part of
her daily routine (and hence a daily annoyance and struggle).
How addressing:
She has no real other option aside from microwaving the food when she gets it
home in order to warm it up to a feasible temperature for eating.
Current
Satisfaction: She is very displeased with the state of this. Although it is a
small part of her day, it adds unnecessary dissatisfaction and annoyance. This
is not something that she, or anyone for that matter, wants or needs in their
busy life.
Prototypical
Customer #2: Mother of 3 Kids
Need: She and
her husband both work full time jobs, so more often than not, it is not feasible
for them to cook dinner after a long day of work. Their time is valuable, and
they often would rather take the easy way out and get fast food. After a long
day, the last thing she wants is for her or her husband to bring home food,
only for it to be stone cold by the time it gets home. This makes the family
upset, especially their picky children.
Awareness
of: This occurs upwards of four times a week, as the family will usually cook
at home on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. However, this varies depending on their
schedules, if their kids have sports, etc. Thus, it is a constant unmet need for
them. They have had this practically since they got married 8 years ago.
How addressing:
They have started only going to fast food restaurants within close proximity to
their home, so as to minimize how cold their food is when it gets home. This
greatly limits their choice of food and prevents them from getting food from
their favorite restaurants across town. However, they still more often than not
have to warm up their food once it is home.
Current
Satisfaction: The family (especially the children) are very unhappy with their
current situation, but they deal with it since they don’t believe they have any
better of an alternative due to the time savings of getting fast food.
Additionally, they are too busy to actively search out or think of a solution.
Prototypical
Customer #3: Business Professional
Need: He is
a high-ranking businessman at a well-known company. He has very little time to
cook since he works 60+ hours most weeks. In addition, he also has little
incentive to cook because he lives alone. He can’t justify the time spent
grocery shopping and preparing meals for one single person. He hates when his food
is cold because it then requires him to waste more time warming it up. Also,
when he puts the bags of his food in his passenger seat or on the floor, the
bags often leak through, potentially staining his nice seats in his Mercedes
and leaving a foul, unpleasant odor in the car.
Awareness
of: This occurs two or three times a day, every day for him. He works almost
every day of the week, and he likes to get Starbucks in the morning (coffee and
sandwich), some local chain for lunch, and the same for dinner- sometimes
splurging on a more expensive take out dinner like a nice steak from Ruth
Chris. He has had this need ever since he started this job 6 years ago.
How addressing:
He has had to keep towels in the trunk of his car in order to put them on the
floor or his seat so as to prevent stains. As far as the smell goes, he has
been paying money for an atomizer for his car to remove the smell. He has
nothing really in the way of keeping the food warm aside from microwaving it at
home.
Current
Satisfaction: He is greatly upset by the state of this issue. He hates having
any cold food, especially since he prefers the finer things in life. Additionally,
he hates any inconvenience that occurs because it wastes his valuable time. He
feels as if he is stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Reflect: All
of these interviews made me realize that my opportunity does hold a solid presence
in the day to day lives of many different individuals around me. The most surprising
thing to me was that not only did the cold food bother people, but the smell it
left as well as any potential stains from the food “sweating” through the bag.
All of my findings were as anticipated, and none of them aside from this seemed
even slightly unordinary. This truly is such a common, day to day problem in
our society.
Summary: I
would say that all, if not more, of my original opportunity is there. Every
single person who I talked to spoke very passionately about how much the issue
annoyed them, and how it put a damper on their day to day lives. As a result, I
would say that my new opportunity is even more accurate than when I started. I
realize that this problem applies much more to those who are getting carryout
than anyone who may be taking leftovers home. This helped narrow my market and
target audience.
Personally,
I really believe that entrepreneurs need to seriously consider customer
feedback, because without it they may be losing potential of their idea and
perhaps not even creating a winning, impactful, and profitable product or service
at all. At the end of the day, an entrepreneur has to be realistic and give the
people what they think they want, not what we think they want. Consciousness
and perspective are very important.
Hi John!
ReplyDeleteGreat post as usual, I really liked that in your interviews you sought people from diverse backgrounds to get a good picture of how your identified problem affects different people. I really thought your example with the mother of three kids was telling, as she altered her spending habits to remedy the problem of poorly insulated fast food, clearly showing potential customers that restaurants are missing out on by not solving this problem. Keep it up!
John,
ReplyDeleteInsulated take out bags would definitely be something that would be very useful. I am frequently deterred from ordering take out from a restaurant because of my awareness that it will likely be cold by the time I make it home. In instances when I am not looking to sit down in a restaurant this generally leads me to not give them my business at all. That fact alone creates a strong value proposition when offering your product to restaurants. While I am sure they will be marginally more expensive, the increased business they will receive could very well surpass this additional expense with ease. I also agree with your opinion about customer feedback. There is no question it is extremely important and if entrepreneurs listened to customer feedback more they would probably be more successful.